RWBY: SWAP
by Facelessmist64
Summary: A swap AU involving all of your favorite RWBY characters! Watch what happens when characters take the roles of someone completely different! Uploads will be the same length as the actual episodes from the show, though there will be chapters added in outside the main story.
1. Chapter 1: Yang Xiao Long

**RWBY: SWAP**

 **Swap AU: In this AU certain characters will fill in the role of others. Certain character traits will be swapped, while others will be the same.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY, Rooster Teeth does.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1: Yang Xiao Long**

 _"Legends. Stories scattered through time. Mankind is fond of recounting it's stories of triumph against the forces of Grimm, to which there are admittedly many. However, they forget that we are all byproducts of a past long forgotten. Humanity grew strong through the manipulation of Dust; crystals built of pure weather. With this, they repelled the ever present forces of Grimm, monsters born from fear. The Grimm were infinite, and yet the smallest spark of hope was enough to ignite humanity into action, and their combined strength was enough to repel the Grimm, and found the pillars of civilization."_ The man's voice pauses his teachings, but just for a moment.

 _"But even the strength of humanity isn't limitless. So long as people have power... they will be corrupted."_

The scene focuses upon a small gang of ruffians prowling the streets, five in all. Four of which were dressed in white suits, and the last was dressed in sharp black with a red tie. He had an over-sized metal bat slung over his shoulder, a smug look on his face. The four goons carried steel machetes and pistols.

 _"So prepare your Huntsmen. Build your walls. Create the strongest weapons Remnant has ever seen. You will only hasten your own demise. For when such a power spawns, humanity will always use it..._

The scene switches to a Dust shop, where the gang of thieves enters, weapons drawn. A girl with long, nearly shining blonde hair wearing a yellow and black gothic-lolita dress reads a weapon magazine, listening to music through her headphones.

A woman's voice replaces the previous. _"Which is why humanity must learn. This is when humanity is in need of a smaller, more honest soul. One that will teach that the greatest strength humanity has is peace."_

The leader of the group walks up to the cashier, and presumably owner of the shop, and cracks a cocky grin.

"You'd be surprised how few Dust shops are open this late. Guess we were lucky to find this place." He says as one of his thugs pulls a gun on the old cashier.

"P-Please don't hurt me! Just take the money..!" he says, terrified.

"We ain't here for the money, gramps. We're here for the Dust. Keep your trap shut and we won't hurt a hair on your head." He turns to his crew. "Pack it up, boys!"

They all get to work, filling suitable containers with powder Dust. One goes to fill a container, and notices a girl reading a magazine in the corner. He could faintly hear the song playing, it was on so loud.

 _I burn!_

 _Swing all you want..._

 _Like a fever I'll take you down!_

"Alright, lady. Put your hands where I can see 'em." He gets no reaction. "I said hands in the air!" He repeats. On closer inspection, she was wearing headphones. There's no way she couldn't have noticed the robbery going on, right?

"Ugh!" He walks over to the girl and taps her shoulder. She turns around and shows her lilac eyes. "Hm?"

The thug wears a scowl, and points to his ears. She takes off her headphones. "What?"

"Put your hands in the air, now!" He demands.

"Wait... are you... mugging me?" She asks, genuinely curious.

"Yes!" He yells, starting to get seriously exasperated.

"Ohhhh..." Se says, realization showing on her face. It quickly changes to excitement.

The Boss was still standing next to the cashier, picking a selection of Dust crystals, when one of the goons is sent flying past him and into a wall. With nary a glance in the goons direction, he looked at another thug and motions in the direction of the offender. The man draws his machete and looks down the row at the blonde warrior.

"Freeze!"

Two seconds later both the man and the warrior were sent flying out the window, though the goon suffered all the pain.

 _I burn!_

 _Swing all you want..._

 _Like a fever I'll take you down!_

 _It doesn't have to be this way..._

 _Let's kiss and make up, then you'll learn..._

 _You can fight your life away..._

 _I get what I want so don't bother and just watch me burn!_

 _Click!_ The song stopped. The warrior rose and drew a yellow and black katana. The remaining goons poked their heads into the window frame, trying to get a good look at the vigilante. The boss also looks at the warrior, and starts stroking his beard.

"Huh. Well? What are you idiots waiting for? Get her!" He yells, and the three remaining goons launch their attack. Two jump through the broken window, while the third opts to just go out the door. The vigilante sheaths her sword, and unbuckles the sheath from her hip and launches her attack with that. The first goes for a vertical slice, but she parries the blade and whacks him in the head with the sheathed blade. She then follows by whacking him in the shins, causing him to buckle, then knocking him out with a punch to the face.

The second does a jumping slash, only to be sidestepped and whacked in the back for his troubles. He attempts to turn around to face his opponent and slash at the same time, but the warrior unsheathes her sword and uses the blade to block, while knocking out the assailant with a bash to the side of the head.

The last henchman, equipped with a pistol, begins taking potshots at her. Two miss, while one breaks against her aura. She takes one leap forward and knocks the pistol out of his hand, before throwing him aside like paper. The goon lands at the boss's feet.

"Useless, every single one of you..." He turns his gaze to the blonde warrior. "Well, I've got to admit, Blondie, you're not too bad! I'd hire you instead of these morons any day. Too bad I've got... other business to attend to." He says, turning his metal bat into a rocket launcher and taking aim at her. "Goodbye, sweetheart!" He fires several missiles in one blast.

She dodges them one after the other, and eventually the barrage ends. She looks around and notices he's disappeared. She looks up and sees him climbing a nearby ladder.

The shop owner appears in the doorway. "You alright?" She asks him quickly. He gives a quick nod. Without another word, she chases after him. While the criminal had to climb the stairs, the warrior _runs_ up them two at a time. By the time he reached the top and started running again, she was right behind him.

"Hold it!" She yells, drawing her weapon and points it at him. He stops, his back still turned. "You're starting to get annoying." He says simply. She takes a step forward, but steps back when an airship rises from behind the building they were standing on. It's side opens, and the criminal hops in.

The side of the ship still open, he takes aim with his rocket launcher once more. "Sorry it's got to end this way, Blondie!" He fires another volley. The warrior had nowhere to dodge.

 _BANGBANGBANGBANGBANG!_

Each rocket exploded before reaching it's target. "Ha!" He cheered preemptively, before squinting his eyes.

When the smoke cleared, the blonde mistress was still standing. She opened her eyes, and noticed a figure to her left. She had green hair and reddish bronze eyes. She held two green guns in her hands and began shooting at the airship, her eyes also beginning to shimmer. The man fired another rocket... towards the space behind and in front of them. He never aimed at where they were. He continued to do this until he took one too many shots for his liking.

He ran into the cockpit to see the pilot. "We've got a Huntress!" The pilot leaves her seat and makes her way out to fight the people shooting at their ship. The man taking the pilot's seat. When she reached the deck, the two crime-stoppers noticed she had platinum blonde hair, and wielded what looked to be a riding crop. With a wave of it she gathered all of the broken pieces of roof left behind by the previous fighter's wake, changing it into the shape of a spear and shooting it at the opposition. The fighter with green hair separated one of her guns into two parts attached with a chain. She swung it at the blond vigilante, knocking her out of the way. The spear changed direction mid-flight and chased after the emerald warrior. With one movement she dodged the strike.

When she looked up again, the ship was already flying away.

A moment of silence past, and the two warriors put away their weapons.

"You... You're Emerald Sustai, right?" The blonde warrior asks. Emerald looks at her sternly. The blonde let's out a squeal and runs towards the lady.

 _'Ohmygosh! It's THE Emerald Sustrai! The youngest teacher to ever teach at Beacon!'_ "Can you sign my sword?!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The answer was no. She sat in a dark room as the teacher from Beacon Academy lectured her.

"What were you thinking?! Sure, if you're getting held up, then fighting them off is reasonable, but you chased after an enemy with _high grade artillery_! Even if you could win you risked people in nearby houses! Do you have anything to say for yourself?!" She demanded.

"I'm sorry..." She said, looking at the ground.

"Well 'sorry' doesn't cut it! I should send you home ri-"

"Emerald, please." A soft, yet powerful voice cuts her off. The owner of the voice steps inside the room, revealing herself to be a middle aged woman. She wore white hair in a bun, and had pale skin. Her eyes were a deep purple. Her hands were folded behind her back.

"Yang Xiao Long." She states, looking at the girl whom she named.

She leans forward to look at the girl. "Your eyes... they are not crimson..." She notes.

"Uhh, what?"

She motions towards Emerald's scroll, which was showing security footage of her fight with the goons. "Tell me, where did you learn to fight like that?"

"S-Signal Academy." The girl answered.

"And Signal taught you how to use one of the most skill-intensive fighting techniques known to man?" She asks.

"Well... one teacher, to be more specific."

"I see." She responds, unfolding her hands to reveal plastic box of cupcakes. She lays it on the table and motioned for her to have some. After a moment of hesitation, Yang quickly snatched one of the cupcakes and started digging in. The woman couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's just that I've only seen one such warrior in my lifetime. A world-weary raven..." She muses.

"Mmm! Thas my mothru!" She says with her mouth full.

The woman raises an eyebrow.

"(swallow) Sorry! That's my mother, Raven Branwen. She taught me at Signal, and now I'm like 'Hwah yah!' Slash, slash!" She says while pretending to swing a sword around.

"So it seems." She answered, thoroughly amused. "But why would a beautiful young lady like yourself wish to train in an academy meant to fight monsters?" She asked.

"Well, I want to be a Huntress. I've always heard that there's so many incredible places out in the world, and I thought that being a Huntress would let me help people and do this at the same time." She answered excitedly.

"Very well. Then answer me this, Yang Xiao Long. Do you know my name?"

"You're Salem, the headmistress at Beacon Academy." She answers.

"Greetings." Salem answered, giving a small smile.

"Hi!" Yang said back.

"So, what are your plans for after Signal?" Salem asks the child.

"Well, after I finished this year I was going to apply to Beacon, see if I can get in." She said, still excited.

"So you wish to come to my school?"

"Hell yeah I do!" Yang answers.

Salem looks at Emerald, who merely rolls her eyes.

"I wish to correct your use of vulgar language, young lady, but I suppose that's something we can teach on campus." She says.

"Wait... Does that mean..?"

"Welcome to Beacon Academy, Yang Xiao Long." Salem confirms.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yang should have been excited that she got admitted into Beacon. She should be jumping place, squealing in excitement, and ready to fight the whole world! She was on the airship to Beacon right now!

But right now, she just wanted to throw up. Her sister wasn't helping.

"This is going to be awesome! I'm going to the same school as my big sis! We're going to kick so much butt together! Oh, come here, sis!" Her sister Ruby Rose said, jumping into Yang and hugging her. This caused her to hang a few inches off the ground, but she didn't mind. Ruby was wearing a red tank top with a black jacket, and black shorts.

"Ruby, please let go..." Yang groaned.

"But why?! We're going to BEACON! This is what we've always dreamed! We're going to learn how to be Huntresses! I thought you'd be more excited about this!" Ruby yells, too hyperactive for her own good.

"I am, but... I'm not sure how I'll fit in. You know I'm no good with crowds, Rubes." Yang explained. "And you were placed two years _ahead_ of everyone else. Aren't you scared of sticking out?"

"So what if we stand out? That just means people will know what we're made of! This is going to be so much fun, sis! Everyone's going to think you're the 'Bees knees'." She said proudly, poking at Yang's yellow and black dress.

"Ugh, no puns, please!" Yang moans, already done with this conversation.

As Yang was done saying this, there was a news headline that caught both of their attention.

"The robbery was led by nefarious criminal Hei Xiong, also known as Junior. He continues to evade authorities. If you have any further information, please contact the Vale Police Department. Back to you, Cyril." The announcer says. The camera switches to a male announcer. "Thank you, Lisa. In other news, this Saturday's Faunus Civil Rights protest turned dark when members of the White Fang disrupted the ceremony. The once peaceful organization has now disrupted-" The announcer was interrupted as an image of Emerald replaced the news broadcast.

"Everyone, welcome to Beacon Academy."

"Who's she?" Ruby asked quickly.

"My name is Emerald Sustrai."

"Oh, alright."

"You are some of the few people who have been selected to attend Beacon Academy. With such an honor comes great responsibility. Every single one of you have been chosen for your skills and future potential. Right now we are in a time of peace, but peace doesn't last forever. Whether it be from Grimm, bandits or any other form of threat, it is your job to do whatever it takes to keep the peace. You've all shown that you have the courage needed to pull this off, so we'll give you the knowledge you need to make use of your courage. Good luck." The image fades.

"Whoa..." With the hologram gone, Yang could see the entirety of the city through the window. She walks towards the window, dumbfounded.

Ruby runs to her side. "You see?! This is gonna be awesome! You can even see Signal from here!" She exclaims.

"I... guess we aren't far from home, after all." Yang realizes.

"Yes! Now stop worrying about everything and have fun!" Ruby says, playfully punching Yang in the arm.

"Watch out. You wouldn't want to hurt your dear older sister would you?" She asked playfully. She was referring to Ruby's weapon, Burning Rose. They were gauntlets that doubled as shotguns.

"Your right! I need to be SO careful! If I don't, I might just blow off a limb!" Ruby said with mock horror.

"Alright, alright, I get it. I need to lighten up."

"She FINALLY gets it! I'm such a good younger sister." Ruby boasts.

Their playful banter was cut off by the anguished moans of another passenger. They looked to see the sick form of a thin man with short, black hair that had a pink stripe. He was dressed in a green hoodie and blue jeans. He was stumbling around the ship, obviously sick.

"P-Pardon me..." He said politely to the sisters as he walked past, most likely looking for a bathroom or trash can.

"Eh, guess the view isn't for everybody." Ruby says with a shrug.

 **Author's Notes: Woof! Two chapters in one day! One for RWBY: Team ERTH and one for this! I have a ton of interesting character swaps already planned out. Some may be obvious, some may be completely nonsensical. Either way, I hope you all enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Shining Beacon

**Chapter 2: The Shining Beacon**

The ships landed, and the first thing Lie Ren did upon landing was find steady ground. He ran off the ship and leaned next to the closest wall he could find. "Ugh... damn you, motion sickness... my mortal enemy..."

Yang and Ruby walk off the ship, and have their breath stolen upon viewing the school. It's spanning arches and majestic banners made Beacon a place from a fairy tale. The sisters walked on... until Yang saw some weapons.

"Ohmygosh! Sis! That's a Dust-infused greatsword! Oh-Oh-Oh and that's a triple notched bow!" Yang says, grabbing her sister's arm.

"Ugh... Yang... could you not be a TOTAL weapon nerd for five minutes?" Ruby said, embarrassed at her sister's weapon-gasming.

"Oh, come on! You used to love talking about cool weapons all the time! Remember when you used to talk about your designs for that one scythe, Crescent Rose?"

"Abuh-buh-buh! Yang! We don't talk about that!" Ruby says quickly.

"What? Why not?" Yang asks, thoroughly confused.

"Becau-" Her explanation was cut off by a loud growl.

"... Ruby? Was that your-"

"Hehehe... SorryYangIgottafindthefoodcourtbyyyyyeee!" She says, quickly disappearing and leaving only a trail of rose petals behind.

"SIS! Oh, why she gotta leave now..." Yang groans, deciding to dramatically fall to the ground. Why? Because she felt like it.

That is, if there wasn't a person right behind her that she accidentally knocked over.

"I-ugh! Watch where your going!" She heard. After rubbing her head, she looks up to see a young woman in a jet black dress that reached her shins. She had equally dark hair and held herself with dignity. Cat ears were visible on her head.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't see you there!" Yang apologized quickly.

"Of course you didn't, you fell backwards! You didn't look behind you before you decided to collapse for no reason other than you could!" She yells, though not without good reason.

"I mean, truly? Who does something like that?!"

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. Can we just... be friends? My name's Yang, what's yours?" Yang asks, truly sorry for her mistake.

"My-"

"Her name is Blake Belladonna, heir to the Belladonna Dust Company. One of the richest families in Remnant." Another girl spoke up. She wore a white shirt with light blue pants. She wore a trench coat on top of it all and had snow white hair. She didn't do anything to the hair, she simply let it down.

"Well, it's nice to meet someone who knows-"

"A company that's known to have unfair wage distributions that favor faunus over humans. And are also known for their shady business practices that are rumored to often times be illegal." The white-clad girl elaborates, causing the Belladonna to deflate.

"I- You- Oh for the love of- Gah!" She says quite elegantly, storming off before she completely loses it.

"Wow. She's mad. Thanks for the-" She turns to thank the new girl, only to see that she's already walking away, as well.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuhhhhhhhh... Can't I meet someone and hold a conversation for more than a minute before they give up?" She moans, before dramatically collapsing to the ground a second time, this time being successful. She lay in silence for a minute, but then she heard footsteps walk over to her. She opens her eyes to see the same boy that was motion sick back on the ship extend his hand to her.

"Greetings. Do you need any assistance? My name is Ren."

Yang accepts gratefully accepts his hand. "I guess you could say that. I'm Yang."

She takes a moment to look at him funnily. "Weren't you sick on the trip here?"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"All that I am saying is that motion sickness is a far more common ailment than most people seem to realize." He interjects. The two of them were walking around campus, talking about various different topics. This one had to do with Yang giving Lie the nickname 'Vomit Boy'...

"I'm sorry, it's just the first thing I thought of. Not sure why, though... Looking back it doesn't seem to fit you..." She muses.

"Perhaps it's because I didn't actually vomit on the ship! Would you prefer if I called you 'Ragdoll'?" He asks, fairly annoyed at his new companion.

"Look, I'm really sorry." She says again.

"Well, my true name is Lie Ren. Short and to the point. A rather dashing name, wouldn't you agree?" He says, trying to be impressive.

"... No?" Yang answers truthfully.

Lie looks like he's about to argue, but stops himself. "Oh, you're probably right. It's not a very flashy name. My mother, An Ren, always say that a simple... Well, never mind." He says quickly, trying to change the subject.

Yang tried to revive the conversation. "Well, I've got this." She says while drawing her katana.

"Whoa! Is... that a katana?" He asks, jumping back slightly.

"Yep. I can also use it's sheath as a pressurized, high accuracy rifle." She explains.

"... Come again?"

"It's also a gun."

"Huh." He says, more impressed by her weapon than his own.

"So... what'chu got?" She asked, not knowing his embarrassment.

"Oh... Well... I have these." Lie says, retrieving his weapons, which were two pistols with knives built in, from his sleeves.

"Cool." Yang says. She had to admit that the whole 'from the sleeve' thing was pretty cool. So she waited to see it's additional functions. Lie picks up on this.

"It, uh, can shoot Dust bullets and if I need to fight up close... I got the sharp ends." He explains crudely.

"Oh, and if I need to put them away I can simply..." He retracts them back into his sleeves. "Put them away." They stay silent for a moment.

"I know they are not very impressive, but they were the easiest weapons available. You see, my parents both served in the military, and these were the standard issued sidearm. I took two and... those were my weapons." He explains.

"Well... Sorry if I was a little judge-y, I'm a bit of a weapon snob. I think using your parent's weapons is a pretty noble thing to do." She explains.

"Yes, noble..." He mutters.

"So... Why'd you help me? You didn't have to, you know..." She says shyly.

"Why wouldn't I? Strangers are just friends we haven't met yet. If I don't help those in need, how can I ever be their friend?" He says, his caring nature making itself apparent.

Yang chuckles. "Let me guess, another thing your mom always says?"

"Guilty as charged." He says with a smile. Yang smiles back.

"So... How close are we to the auditorium?" Yang asks.

"How do you mean?" He asks back.

"Wait, so we're not headed towards the auditorium?" She was starting to get concerned.

"I was under the impression that you were the one leading."

They both stopped in their tracks.

"Perhaps there is a directory nearby?" He suggests.

"A food court, if we're lucky?" Yang chuckles at this. If there was, Ruby was at it right now.

"Some other form of recognizable landmark?" Yang couldn't help but laugh at his demeanor.

"... Is that a no?"

"Don't worry, Hotshot, we'll find the place."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yang and Ren walk into the main building, having finally found their destination.

"Hey, Yang! Sis! Get over here! I saved you a spot!" Ruby calls from the crowd.

Yang turns to Ren. "Hey, I gotta go. Maybe we could talk more later?" She says hopefully.

"Of course. It's been a pleasure." He says with immaculate politeness. Once Yang leaves, though, his smile turns upside down.

"Oh, bother. Who will keep me company now?" He says, not knowing an orange-haired prodigy had taken notice of him.

Yang catches up to Ruby. "So how's things been going, big sis?" Ruby asks.

"Oh, not bad... That is until I knocked into a girl by accident and she got REALLY mad at me." She says while getting mad at Ruby.

"Oh, one person getting mad at you couldn't have been _that_ bad." Ruby says dismissively.

"It _was_ when she stormed off about to explode, and then the one person who took my side left immediately after, and then I found someone nice only to get lost immediately afterwords! And right now I just wanna relax because this whole day has been one giant SNOWBALL!" She vents to the younger sister, not knowing someone else was right behind her.

" _You."_ Blake said quietly, yet insidiously.

"OH NO YOU'RE BACK!" Yang screams, clutching Ruby for safety.

"I still haven't forgiven you for slamming yourself into me." She declares.

"Yang, what did you do to her?" Ruby asks, slightly horrified at the possibilities.

"Look, I'm sorry, I just-"

 _Tap_

 _Tap_

 _Tap_

The sound echoed through the auditorium as Headmistress Salem tapped the microphone.

"I will not take up anymore time than needed. I know each of you have arrived here looking to become a Huntsman. As Huntsmen, each of you will be tasked with protecting humanity from whatever attempts to threaten it. However, some of the students in this Academy are only here for the fame and fortune this occupation may provide you." She gives a dark chuckle. "Your time here will separate the worthy from the unworthy. The strong, and the weak. The kind..." She pauses.

"And the cruel. All of you who hold the belief that the strong must protect the weak will graduate this school, and be fully-fledged Huntsman and Huntresses. Those who don't... Will fail." She says ominously.

As Salem walks off the stage, Emerald takes her place. "All of you will sleep in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow you will embark on your initiation tests. After that, you will be assigned dorm rooms, and normal classes will start. Goodnight." She says, before following Salem.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Everyone was setting down their sleeping bags and changing into their night clothes. Yang was laying face down on her sleeping bag, trying to think of what to write in her letter to both of her mothers. Ruby interrupted her train of thought by landing right next to the older sibling.

"It's like a massive sleep-over!" Ruby says with a grin.

"Not sure Mom would like how many boys are here, though." Yang says responsibly.

"Well I know _someone_ does!" Ruby says enthusiastically, looking over the crowd.

"Rubes, you're fifteen." Yang sternly reminds her.

"So what?! I'm fifteen, I can make choices for myself! And I want to be in a relationship!" She says while crossing her arms. She continues to look over the crowd until she sees Ren in a 'Strawberry Sloth' onesie.

"Ewww..." She decided to stop looking around for a few minutes. She looks over to Yang, instead. "What'cha writing there?"

"Just a letter back home. Mother wants me to send back a few letters. She wants to know how Beacon's like... if I've made any friends... you know, the normal parent stuff." She explains.

"Too bad I don't have much to write about in the friend department..." She laments.

"Don't say that! You have Lie, and he's... okay." She says, trying to be as nice as humanly possible in this situation. Or as nice as _she_ can possibly be, anyway.

"Yeah, but now I have Blake mad at me. Now I have one friend and one enemy." She says, bummed out about the whole situation.

Ruby didn't want to press her too hard on the subject, she knew Yang wasn't a people-person. "Well... what about Aunt Raven? Are you going to write to her, too?" She asks.

"Yeah, but I'm going to send those to Mother, too. I never know where Mom goes so I just have Mother hold onto them until she gets back. Though, the stuff I write isn't relevant anymore. You know how Mom gets... She does one job, goes after another, and before you know it it's been a month." She says, slightly bitter.

"Yang... You know that Aunt Raven is out there fighting Grimm and protecting people, right? That when we graduate, we'll be doing the exact same thing?" Ruby asks her sister.

Yang sighs. "I know. I still miss her, though." She says forlornly.

"I miss her, too, Yang." Ruby says, holding Yang's hand.

After a moment of comforting silence, Yang notices someone in the distance. "Hey... It's that girl from before." She says simply, seeing the white-haired mistress that assisted her earlier.

"Wait, you know her? Then let's go talk to her! You'll totally be best friends!" She says somewhat loudly, considering a few people in the ballroom were trying to sleep.

"What- No! Ruby, quit it!" Yang says as she is being dragged away by Ruby. Despite Yang being the older sibling Ruby's strength as a pugilist overcame that.

Weiss Schnee was currently enjoying a book when she heard the sounds of a scuffle nearby. And getting closer. And distracting her from her book. She looks up.

Ruby was pulling her sister by the arm over to the Schnee. "Hi! I think you and my sister have meet before?" She says, slightly tired from pulling Yang.

Weiss looks over at Yang. "... Weren't you the girl that collapsed in the courtyard?"

Yang looks embarrassed. "Well... Yeah... You see, I was really stressed out and angry, and I was really in a dramatic mood, and... You know" She tries to explain to the best of her ability.

"... No, no I don't." Weiss deadpanned. She looks back at her book.

"... Come on, Ruby. She doesn't want to talk to us." Yang said, nudging her sister.

"What kinda book is it?" Ruby asks.

"Huh? Oh, well... It's a book about a woman with two souls, slowly becoming one over a period of years." Weiss explains.

"Cool... I love books. My mom used to read to us all the time. She'd tell stories about Huntsmen and Huntresses... Protecting the people... Before I knew it, I wanted to be one as well. I wanted to protect those who can't protect themselves." She explains.

"That's... very admirable of you. But I have to warn you, the real world isn't like the fairy tales your mother told you. It's cruel, and unforgiving." Weiss explains with a sympathetic look.

"Well... That's what we're here for, right? To make the world as forgiving as possible." She said, filled with optimism.

"Yes... Yes, I suppose it is." Weiss says, a small smile showing on her face.

"Could you please quiet down? There are people here trying to get some rest!" The cat girl Blake said, walking over to them. She realizes who they are.

"OH, COME ON!" Ruby and Blake yell at the same time.

As Ruby and Blake started arguing, Weiss just rolled her eyes, and blew out her candle.

 **Author's Notes: HOLY CRAP. After just one 2,700 word chapter this story just blew Team ERTH out of the water! 3 reviews, 6 favorites, and 7 followers! You guys are awesome! Now that I have some reviews I'll be responding to them in the author's notes and through replies.**

 **Bomberguy789:**

Well, this is definitely an interesting one. Literally no one is as they were! Does this mean that Nora is going to be some super famous fighter, or is that going to be something crazy like Weiss? Who the hell knows!  
Because this is going to get so interesting... (I'm betting that Tai is now the cool uncle by the way, and that some other dude ran away instead of staying with their kid)

 **Trust me, I've got a LOT of crazy swaps planned out. Though there are characters that aren't straight swapped, and simply take one character's role while the character that got replaced will take up a completely different character.**

 **Lord of Memory:**

Very good. It is a great start to what I hope will be an amazing story. Also props for making a swap story not many of those around

 **Thanks! I was just walking around one day at school and the idea came to me.**

 **SilverArbiter:**

I was honestly expecting Cinder to replace Glynda, not Emerald.

But nonetheless, this story does have promise, I can't wait for more chapters to come out.

 **Actually, that was the original plan, but I found a way cooler(and weirder) way to incorporate her. And chapters shouldn't take too long to come out, hopefully, since this is running parallel to the show.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading my story! It means a lot to me! See you next episode!**


	3. Chapter 3: The First Step

**Chapter 3: The First Step**

Jaune Arc had recently been admitted into Beacon Academy. He wasn't the most talkative fellow, nor was he inclined to be so. Without much of a home to return to, he kept moving forward, never looking back once. Of course, there was going to be challenges, such as the Grimm, or bandits, even ten page essays weren't out of the equation. But so long as he kept a cool head, and a steady blade, he could beat any challenges in his way.

"Wakey, wakey, sleepy-buns!"

Oh, and with his personal alarm clock, Pyrrha Nikos, of course.

"Good morning,

Good morning,

Good morning,

It's morning!" She said in a sing-song voice.

Arc couldn't help but sigh. Every moment of the day Pyrrha was always at 100%. Full throttle, 0 to 60 in a matter of five seconds. He could never keep up with her, so he gave up trying a long time ago. She would talk about everything on her mind, whether it was in the bathroom while he was brushing his teeth...

"I can't believe we've been at Beacon for a full day now! Not that I thought we'd be kicked out or anything. I am a straight-A student and you're, well, you! But it's so incredible, don't you agree? We've together for so long!"

When they were adjusting their equipment...

"What are the odds that we'd be paired up together? Though I guess we're already together-together, so maybe I could just ask the teachers if they could put us on the same team?"

While they were eating waffles...

"But even if we don't, I will always love you, Arcy-poo! Wait! What if we make a plan? One that will make sure we're on the same team? What if we bribe Salem?! No, that won't work, she has a school..."

While they were equipping before the initiation test...

"I know! We'll have a calling sign!One that only we'll recognize! That way, we'll locate each other in the forest! Can you recognize a rabbit squeak?"

"Pyrrha?"

"Yes, Jaune?"

Arc sheaths his sword in his collapsible shield and fastens it to his waist. "Do rabbits make a lot of noise?"

Pyrrha thinks on that for a second. "No... but that's why it's PERFECT! No one will suspect a thing!" She yells enthusiastically.

Arc couldn't help but smile. Her enthusiasm was contagious, which was a good thing, too. _'If she didn't drag me out of bed each morning then I probably wouldn't get up in the first place.'_ He humors his girlfriend. "Alright, let's practice that rabbit call." He says with a small laugh.

"Ohhhh! We're SO going to end up on the same team now!" Pyrrha says with a series of giggles. They walked out of the locker room, leaving behind a Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long.

"Huh. Wonder what those two were so excited about?" Yang asks her sister.

"Oh, who cares? What's more important is that you seem a lot happier this morning." Ruby says, smiling at her sister.

"Yep! No more awkward socializing! Now I can just let my dear Bumblebee do the talking." Yang says, hugging her sword.

"Alright, but Yang?" Ruby looks at her sister worriedly.

"Muh?"

"You should try to socialize more. You're always so worried about me, that you never have any time to yourself. Get to know some people!" Ruby urges her sister.

"Ugh, you sound like Mother..." Yang grumbles.

"Ouch, burn." Ruby said with a chuckle. "But I'm just saying, sis. You may want to find a team without me, for your own sake." Ruby says.

"My dearest little sister Ruby, are you implying that you don't want to be on a team with me?!" Yang accuses angrily.

"What?! No, of course I do! That accusation's completely-"

"Ludicrous!" Ren says, looking for his other sets of clothes. "There's no feasible way I stored my belongings in locker 636! I'd remember something like that, right? Why does this have to happen today of all days..." He groans while passing Blake Belladonna and the champion fighter, Nora Valkyrie. Also known as the "Goddess of Lightning."

"So, Nora, have you considered who you will ally with? Rumor is that teams are forming today."

Nora takes a moment to think about it. "Hmmmm... Who knows? I'll just leave it up to chance." She said with a shrug.

"Really? Because, if you prefer, I could be your partner." Blake suggests.

"Sure! That sounds neat!" Nora says enthusiastically. Secretly Blake plotted...

 _'Yes! We'll be insurmountable! The strongest fighter in Beacon combined with the smartest student in Beacon! Perfect grades, perfect combat scores, we'll be so popular!'_

"Do you know what else is neat? Lie Ren. That's myself." Ren says, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hi, Lie!" Nora says with a wave, chuckling at her rhyme.

"Yeah, hi- Now, I didn't seem to catch your name, beautiful." He says, directing it at Blake.

"If you must know, my name is Blake Belladonna, and may address me by my full name until the foreseeable future." She says coldly.

"So we have a future, eh? Sounds promising." Ren says, refusing to take the hint. "So I heard teams were being formed today, been thinking we could be an astounding pair."

Nora joins in on the conversation. "Actually, I heard teams are going to be four people each."

Lie turns around. "Truly? Then perhaps we could be on the same team as well. I would appreciate the company." He said with a bow and a smile.

"Whoawhoawhoa, hold up! Lie Ren, do you have _any idea_ as to whom you are speaking to?" Blake demands.

"None at all." He answers truthfully.

"This is Nora Valkyrie."

"Hi again!" Nora said with a cheery grin.

"Nora graduated top of her class at Sanctum Academy."

"I've unfortunately never heard of the Academy." Lie says, having grown up away from there.

"She's won the Mistral Regional four times in a row. That's a world record!" She said, getting more exasperated the more she explains.

"I'm sorry?"

Blake was pinching the bridge of her nose. "She's on the cover of every Strawberry Sloth's breakfast cereal..." She mutters. She would be severely disappointed if _that_ was where Lie knew Nora.

She was disappointed. "I'm sorry, that's you?! Strawberry Sloth is my favorite cereal!" Lie said, flabbergasted.

"Yeah, it's pretty neat. People complain it isn't good for you, but ehhh, who cares?" She says nonchalantly.

"So, now that you know who you're talking to, do you really believe that _you_ are in a position to ask her to be on your team?" Blake says, her eyes turning into slits.

"I... suppose not. I'll be on my way." He says, embarrassed.

"Wait, Lie! Come on, don't be such a sour-puss! I, for one, would love to be on your team." Nora says with a grin.

"Oh, you don't mean that!" Lie says, his mood improving significantly.

"I mean, you seriously can't. He's just a wannabe!" Blake argues.

"Well, it seems like two spots have been filled, now there's only two left... Sure you don't want to join?" Ren says.

"Like I'd want to join a team with an arrogant human like yourself." She says with cruel intent, before storming off. "Ouch." Ren said appropriately.

A _'ping!'_ signaled an announcement. "Would all first year students report to Beacon Cliffs for initiation? Again, all first year students please report to Beacon Cliffs for initiation."

"Well, see ya later, Lie!" Nora said quickly.

She left, leaving Ren alone. He sighs. "Well that could have gone better..." He laments.

"Having trouble there, lady killer?" Ruby said, walking over with Yang.

"Sis, please." Yang said sternly, offering Ren a comforting hand on the shoulder.

"I just don't know what I'm doing wrong. My father, Li Ren, says that confidence is all you need. Is he wrong?"

"Listen, Lie. Every girl is different. Even if confidence is all your dad needed to woo over your mom, that doesn't mean it will win you Blake." Yang said in mature tone.

"Yeah, you're right. Thanks, Yang." He said sincerely.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

They all arrived at Beacon Cliffs. There stood Salem and Emerald, ready to give instructions. The row of students included all of those we've meet so far, as well as a rabbit faunus and a woman wearing a pair of sunglasses. They both wore punk-rocker outfits.

"For years, you all have trained to become Huntsmen and Huntresses, and today your skills will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Salem states.

Emerald speaks up. "I bet you're all thinking that your going to be assigned teams today. Well... You'd be right." She says, not quite sure why she phrased it that way herself.

Salem continues her explanation. "Your objective is to reach the end of this forest, where several relics are held. These relics will determine which team you will be placed on. The team you are placed on will be your partners for the rest of your time here at Beacon. As such, you will want to partner yourselves with whom you will work well with. That being said, the first person you meet will be your partner." Salem said with a straight face.

"What?!" All the students start freaking out. Salem chuckles. _'I always love that part.'_

"You will acquire no assistance from the teachers during this test. Don't hesitate to destroy all in your way, for the Grimm that occupy this forest will not. Prepare to launch."

As she said this, the pads they all stood on began to launch each of the students.

"Uh, Headmistress Salem? I have a question..." Ren says nervously. He didn't seem to notice each of the students soaring into the air.

"I am not accepting any questions at this time, thank you." Salem says quickly.

"What? B-But, I was kind of wonderiIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" His question was cut short by his sudden disconnect from the earth.

Salem watched them all fly off with a totally neutral expression. Emerald walked over to her and handed her a cup of tea. "Aw, thank you Emerald."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Each of the students soared through the air, each equipped with their own landing strategy. Arc unsheathed his sword and impaled it into the nearest tree, using it as a stopper and safely landing on the ground. He looked up into the air and saw Pyrrha standing on top of her shield like a surfboard, surfing across the treetops.

Yang hit the ground running, looking for a partner as quickly as possible. She considered her options.

 _'Who should I partner with? I want to partner with Ruby, but that might not be possible... I could partner with Lie. He may be a shameless flirt, but he's still nice when it counts. Not sure how good he is in a fight, though... Wait, there's still Weiss. She's pretty cool and mysterious, but not a very good conversation partner... Oh, come on! There has to be someone else I can partner with. There's Ruby, Lie, Weiss..."_

She skidded to a halt when she saw the figure of a nearby person. She made eye contact with them.

She realized she was locked eyes with the blank-faced Blake Belladonna. They stood there for a few seconds, Yang doing her best to give a smile. Blake turned and left.

"No! Wait! Please come back! Awwwww..."

Blake kept walking, tugging on her dress whenever it got snagged. "Ugh... Stupid... Plants..."

"Ugh... Stupid... Tree..." Blake looked up to see Lie hanging from a tree, his shirt being hung on a tree branch. "Oh... Hello, Blake! I was just... hanging around..." He said, losing heart halfway through it. This caused her to head back the way she came.

She returned to Yang's side. "You better pull you weight."

Yang was ecstatic. "Yes! Thanks, Blake!"

Lie was still in the tree. "Wait! I am in need of assistance! Come back, please!"

"Ren? What'cha doing up there, you Silly-Billy!" Nora said, appearing below him.

"Oh, hello, Nora. I was, uh, just hanging around?" He says again, trying the same joke again.

Surprisingly, Nora laughs at this. "Didn't you just say that?"

"Yeah." Lie says, dejectedly.

"You need help?"

"I would really appreciate it."

"Alright, I'll get you down in a jiffy!" Nora says, taking out her grenade launcher and firing at the spot of the tree right behind Lie.

"Wait! Nononononono-" He's cut off by the explosion. The branch flies off the tree, taking Lie with it and sending him into the air. He screams, and closes his eyes in expectation of the fall, but it never happens. He opens his eyes to see Nora smiling at him, having caught him.

"Hi!" Nora says, happily.

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Hello!" Ren says with a small wave.

 **Author's notes: I was SO excited to write this chapter! The introductory scene in chapter 4 is one of my favorites in Volume 1, and doing it with swapped characters was so much fun! Oh, and the Arkos ship has already sailed! No beating around the bush with this one.**

 **Now time to respond to reviews:**

 **DarkDevilKnight:**

I think I prefer "Headmistress" instead of "Headmaster" for Salem but this is a good story so far.

 **Thank you so much for correcting me on that! If anyone notices a spelling or grammatical error, please tell me so I can correct it ASAP! Thanks for the feedback!**

 **Lord Of Memory:**

This is really cool. So we have Ren replacing Jaune, so will Nora replace Pyrrha? Interesting to see that the faunus are the top dogs now. I can't wait for the next chapter, this is a wonderful piece of art.

 **Thank you so much! I never had someone compliment one of my works like that before! Pyrrha did indeed replace Nora, as this chapter proves. Also, the faunus aren't quite the top dogs, as will be revealed further down the line...**

 **Royal2:**

Good chapter, man. Can't wait for more.

 **Thanks! Should be updated fairly often.**

 **See you all next episode!**


	4. Paralogue 1: Red

**Paralogue 1: "Red"**

 **This is a swapped recreation of the "Yellow" trailer.**

 **Paralogues are going to be chapters that occur outside the current story. Expect more in the future.**

Ruby Rose was on a mission. The prodigy was recently accepted into Beacon Academy two years early, and this news gave her the confidence to reignite her search for a particular man, and she knew another man who could lead her to him. This information broker was rumored to hide out in a club called "The Red Candle."

She made her way to the place, not bothering with a taxi. She sped by the city blocks, leaving a trail of petals in her wake. She eventually reached her destination, and looked at the neon sign that lit up the whole surrounding area. It showed a picture of a burning red candle sticking out of the end of a cane.

She walked inside, taking witness to a massive, raving club filled with people. Across the club, she could see a bar area, where a large man was negotiating terms with a man with orange hair and a bowler hat. She walked down the steps leading to the dance floor, and waded past the crowd until she reached the bar. Once she reached the bar, she noticed that the large man had left and the bowler hat dude was left holding his head. She could faintly make out the music playing over the roaring crowd.

 _Red like Roses..._

 _Fills my dreams..._

 _And takes me to the place you rest..._

She didn't particularly like the song.

She took a seat next to him and looked at the drink menu. _'Ooooh! I've never been to a bar before! I can finally get one of those fancy 'grown-up drinks' , and Mom and Yang will never know! Maybe I should get one before I kick things off... Now what should I order?'_

"One strawberry sunrise, please." Ruby tells the bartender. This gains the attention of the crime boss to her left.

"Uh, Red? Aren't you a little- no, scratch that. Aren't you _way_ too young to be in this establishment?" The man asked.

"Hmph. Funny you're calling me 'Red' when your name is Roman Torchwick." Ruby says with a cocky smirk.

"So you know my name. Congrats. Well? What do you want? Don't got all day, kid." Roman says, having gotten his drink and taken a large gulp.

"I've heard you got information on everyone in Vale. That right?" Ruby asked, annoyed her drink hasn't come yet. How long does it take to get a drink? Are they tough to make?

"Everything I know comes with a price, kid. You ask, I'll name my price." He explains casually.

"Alright." She brings out her scroll, which shows an old photo of a man with black hair. "His name's Qrow Branwen. I want to know where he is. What's the price?" Ruby said, her voice suddenly becoming forceful.

He squints his eyes and stares at the scroll, racking his brain to see if he's seen the man before. "Mmmmmmm... Sorry, Red. Haven't seen him in my life. If that's it, I'll have to ask you to leave." Roman says, professionally.

"What?! The hell did you say?!" Ruby yelled, grabbing Roman by the collar and holding him in the air, her having to stand on her stool to actually be tall enough to pick him up. "Like hell you don't know him! Qrow Branwen! Branwen Tribe! No way you don't know where he is!"

Roman was squirming in the air. "Gah! Red, I don't know what you're thinking, but I don't tend to have information on a measly _bandit tribe_! If you want to get out of here in one piece, it would be in your best interests to let me go, _now_!" Ruby looked around and noticed that a mob of thugs with weapons drawn were surrounding the two of them.

"Oops, am I making a scene? Is it embarrassing to get your butt handed to you by a little girl?" She said, before letting him go.

Roman landed on his feet, rubbing the area around his collar. "You're lucky, Red..." He said while walking towards the dance floor. The bartender arrived with Ruby's drink.

"Thanks!" She takes a quick sip. "Ugh! That's gross! Grown ups are weird..." She takes off after Roman.

"Hold on, Rome! I was just playin' around! Come on, let's kiss and make up!" This stops Roman in his tracks.

"Are... you serious?"

"Yeah! Come on!" She turns her cheek to him.

"Uhhhhhhh... No, Red. Just... no." He said awkwardly.

"What? Why not?!" She asked, actually a little angry.

"Because I'm a 32 year old man, and you're a 14 year old girl." He points out.

"I'm 15, jackass!" She yells before punching him in the gut, sending him across the club, smashing him through a glass pillar, slamming him against the wall, and knocking him unconscious.

The dancers begin to scream and run out of the club, leaving only Ruby and Roman's goons. They all try to rush her, ready to slash her to ribbons with their machetes. They brought down there blades...

Only to meet nothing but air and rose petals.

They look up to see the girl transforming her bracelets into blood-red gauntlets, see her give a look of excitement, and slam the floor with a mighty explosion. The goons were blasted away, and Ruby got to work.

None of the goons stood a chance. As she ducked and weaved she bashed every single one of them sky high.

With the goons taken care of, the club became quiet enough to hear the faint footsteps of someone approaching. Ruby turns around to see a woman in a white blouse and tan pants. Her hair was one half pink, and one half brown. Her eyes were the same way. She gave Ruby an overconfident smirk, but said nothing.

Ruby jumped off the DJ's stand and started to fire shogun round after shotgun round at the still figure. Neo simply turned, opening up a parasol that protected her from Ruby's blasts. Ruby tried to ground pound her as she was landing, but Neo rolled backwards. Neo unsheathes a thin blade from her parasol and thrusts. Sidestepping the blade, she attempted two punches on the ice cream themed woman.

Neo moved her head out of the way of one punch and used her parasol to knock away the other. Neo flashed a malicious smile as she swiped at Ruby, thinking she dealt a fatal blow. The blade merely scraped across Ruby's aura, and Ruby smiled at this. She had an opening!

With two blasts to the gut, a kick to the shins, and an uppercut Neo was sent into the air. Ruby reloaded her gauntlets and landed one last explosive punch as Neo fell, causing her to slam into the corner. Neo was down and out.

After a moment of satisfaction, the lights in the room dimmed. A spotlight turned on, and Roman stood in its center, holding a cane. He pointed it at Ruby, and the end popped off into a cross-hair.

"End of the line, Red." He says with chilling calmness. He pulled the trigger and an explosive firework-like projectile shot towards Ruby. She dodged, and leaped at him from across the room. He flips his cane, and the handle shoots out at Ruby, catching her by surprise. It hits her square in the face, breaking her concentration. With a flick of the wrist, the handle wrapped itself around her ankle, and Roman yanks her over.

He steps to the side as she's crashing into the ground, and as soon as the handle reattaches he fires a blast at her grounded form, causing her to be launched several feet away. She slowly gets back up and smirks. _'Looks like I get to break out the super speed!'_

With a flourish of rose petals, she zipped from one side of the room to another, she fired round after round at Roman. He smacked everyone aside, and once Ruby got into melee range, he was the first to attack. He swiped, but Ruby ducked. She hit him several different angles at once, circling around him at the speed of sound, landing punch, after punch, after punch.

She knocked him towards the front of the club, and Roman was barely left standing. Ruby finished the fight in spectacular style, launching towards Roman like a spinning, rose-red bullet. She slammed into him, causing him to fly out of the club and land in the barren Vale streets.

… Right at Ruby's older sister, Yang's feet. Ruby landed outside as well. "Ruby?"

"OH! Hey, sis! Funny seeing you here!" Ruby said with a forced laugh.

"Yeah, funny. Tell me sis, what EXACTLY are you doing in a shady club at ten in evening?" Yang asks, anger already apparent.

"Club? What club? Oh, THIS club! Oh, you know... stuff." She says, feeling weak in her normal knees.

"'Stuff' is the _worst_ answer you could give right now." Yang said, eyes turning red.

"Look, sis, it's a long story-"

"That you're telling me and Mother when we get back home. We're leaving, NOW!" She screams, getting on her motorcycle and revving the engine.

"Get on! You're SO grounded!" She yells, her hair starting to smoulder.

Ruby groans. She was _not_ going to enjoy the hour-long ride home...

 **Author's notes: So, you guys like the trailer? I'm considering doing the other trailers like this, if further down the line. Just to note, the trailers will be colored based on the current character. (Ruby is still red, thus her role in the Yellow trailer means it's titled 'Red'. This applies to the other characters in the same way.) Anyways, on to reviews!**

 **Royal2:**

Good chapter, man. Can't wait for more. Is Cardin still going to be the bully?

 **Cardin was swapped, so he will not be the bully. If you payed close attention last chapter, there's a clue as to whom will replace Cardin...**

 **Bomberguy789:**

I missed out on this for some reason, but the new changes definitely seem cool, especially since it isn't just "this character is now this character." Instead, it's "this character is partially this character, while still remaining as their own character, sort of, kinda, maybe."  
Which, by the way, is much more interesting to read.

 **That's EXACTLY how I would describe this fanfic! You get it, man! Thanks for the support!**


	5. Chapter 4: The Emerald Forest

**Chapter 4: The Emerald Forest**

Ruby was searching through the forest for Yang, hoping that they'd be partner together, if only for Yang's sake. "Yaaaang! Yaaaaaaaaaang! You there?" She hears a nearby bush rustle. She peers into hedge, hoping it to be her sister. "Yaaaaaang? Is that you?"

A low growl fills her ears. "Huh... You're not Yang." She says, dodging out of the way just in time as an Ursa swipes at her. A moment later, another joins the fray.

"Hi there! My names Ruby, what's yours?" The only answer was a roar. "Nice name. I gotta kill you now, sorry!" She activates her semblance and starts spinning around one Ursa, firing off shotgun round after shotgun round, riddling the Ursa with bullet holes that bled shadows. The Ursa fell with a thud, before dissolving into shadows.

The second was unfazed, ready to try his chances against the young girl. "You still wanna fight? Alright!" She reloaded her gauntlets and got into position...

Only for the Ursa to be frozen solid. The sound of wind being cut was followed up by the frozen Grimm being sliced in two, the top half sliding off to reveal Weiss Schnee having cut it down. Ruby and Weiss stare at each other for a moment.

"I had him." Ruby says nonchalantly.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So this was interesting.

Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna had recently become partners, and thus traveled together through the Emerald Forest searching for the relics needed to complete the challenge.

Unfortunately, the two worked together about as well as a scroll and water. The two never agreed on directions and constantly bickered. Like right now.

"Blake, we're lost." Yang stated, bored out of her mind.

"We are not lost! I'm a faunus, so I will be able to navigate a path to the relics. We should go... that way." She stated proudly, pointing to a random direction.

"Being a faunus doesn't mean anything when we've gone past that same tree four times!" Yang yelled, failing to control her anger.

"Okay, fine. I don't know where to go. But do you have any better idea?" Blake says, only doing a slightly better job at keeping her emotions in check.

"No, so let's put our heads together, and think of a way to find out where those relics are." Yang reasons.

Blake sighs. "Okay. We aren't getting anywhere on ground. We should get up in the trees, maybe we could get a better view of our surroundings."

"Good idea. You think you can get up there?" Yang asks, knowing she wouldn't be able to get up there herself.

"Yeah, I can make it. Wait here." Blake says, using her sword's extended whip to grab one of the branches. With a tug, the whip retracts, sending Blake into the treetops. She continued to climb up the tree, until she reached the highest point, where her head barely poked through the brush. She could barely see anything past the next few trees. With a frustrated sigh, Blake hops back down.

"So? You find anything?" Yang asks.

"No. Couldn't reach high enough to see anything." Blake said, shaking her head.

"Crud." Yang said, crossing her arms. After a moment, her eyes light up.

"Wait! I've got an idea!" Yang yells.

"Shhh! Don't yell, you might attract Grimm. What's the idea?" Blake said sternly.

"Sorry..." Yang said, somewhat embarrassed. "Alright, so you couldn't get high enough above the trees. Right?"

"Right..." Blake said slowly.

"Well, if you get back up into the trees, you could sling me up into the air, and maybe I could see something then?" Yang suggests. Blake seems to consider this for a moment.

"Well... It won't hurt to try. I think..." Blake says, her ears dropping slightly.

"It will be fine! Let's do it!" Yang said excitedly.

"Calm down, Xiao Long. Are you sure you can land safely? You're going to be _very_ high up." Blake says, her sharp voice laced with worry.

"I managed a three point landing at terminal velocity, _Blake Belladonna._ I think I can handle this." Yang says smugly.

"Alright, don't be a nuisance." Blake says, not appreciating Yang's tone. She returns to the trees and throws the bladed edge of her whip into the ground in front of Yang.

"Grab the handle and hold the connecting band with the other hand. Do NOT wrap the band around your arm! I want you to tug it, and then start running. I'll use your momentum to swing you up. Just before you reach the top of the arc, let go, that way you can get the highest you possibly can. Understood?" Blake calls from the top of the tree.

"Got it!" Yang called back. She grabbed the handle, and got ready to run. She counted off. "3... 2... 1... Here I go!"

She started running. Blake felt the length of the whip go slack, before quickly flexing at it's maximum length. She pulled hard, throwing Yang up into the air, and halfway up the trees. Yang stepped on a tree branch to regain momentum, which seemed to worked. She, with Blake's help, was quickly reaching the tree tops.

"Let go!" Blake called, and Yang trusted her. As she let go she felt herself lose any feeling of gravity and saw the treetops rush past her. She broke the treeline, and was easily twenty feet above them. Using this opportunity, she swung around midair, looking desperately for an indicator of where the relics where. Just before she dropped down into the trees once more, she noticed a stone structure fairly close by.

She landed, and was looking around for Blake. "Blake! I think I found it! It's off this way! Blake?" She looked around, but couldn't find her.

"BLAAAKE!" She called out. She heard a rustling behind her.

"Blake?"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ren and Nora were making their way through the Emerald Forest, not having encountered any Grimm yet. Nora was skipping along, not really minding anything, and Ren followed closely behind. Nora pushed a branch out of the way, and let go, forgetting about the company she had.

 _WHACK!_

"Ow!" Ren hit the dirt, the branch leaving a scratch on his face.

"Whoops! Sorry 'bout that!" Nora said, still as cheerful as ever.

"Oof... It's nothing, don't worry about it. Just a scrape." He said sincerely.

"Hm? Hey, Lie? Why didn't you activate your Aura?" she asked, noticing Lie's scratch.

"I beg your pardon?" He asks nervously, completely confused.

"Your Aura." Nora repeated.

"Ummmmmm..." He couldn't quite figure out anything to say to get out of the situation.

"Lie, don't you know what Aura is?" She said, putting on a frown.

"Perhaps... I need a refresher course?" He said slowly.

Nora sighs. "Aura is the embodiment of our souls. They protect us from being hurt and give us strength. Come here."

Nora steps up to Ren and puts a hand on his shoulder.

"W-What are you doing?!" Ren stammers.

"Oh, calm down! I'm going to unlock your Aura. Just stay still until I'm done chanting, okay?" She says, slightly annoyed.

"Oh... okay."

Nora closes her eyes, and she starts to glow. "It is our duty to protect this world, or fall doing so. For when our time comes we will be raised to Valhalla, where we will once more fight and die in the name of the people. The oath timeless, the burden unrelenting... I deem you worthy to possess the greatest shield against evil. By my hand, may your Aura be unlocked."

Ren began to glow, as Nora faded. She suddenly leans on him for support. "Nora, are you okay?!" He asks worriedly.

"I'm good. I just used part of my Aura to make yours. Now you got your own force field!" Nora says, grinning at him.

Ren looks down at his glowing hands as they slowly fade. "Incredible..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Arc was looking for Pyrrha. He found a small opening that seemed a good place to rest...

 _"Hisssssssss..."_

Arc immediately rolled to the side just in time to avoid the head of a King Taijitu trying to take a bite out of him. He quickly drew his weapon and expanded his shield. He looked upon the shadowy serpent, and merely frowned.

The Taijitu tried to bite him again, but Arc blocked the head with his shield, knocking it away. He took a slash at the length of the snake, leaving a considerable gash. The beast roared in pain, and tried to swallow him whole. As the beast's head rose into the air, it crashed down onto Arc's position. He jumped out of the way, and ran back at the beast by jabbing it in the eye.

It roared and fell limp. Arc thought the battle was over... But the rustling of leaves said otherwise.

A second head rose, revealing the two snakes to be connected. The first one moved to join it's second half, not yet dead. The second head tried wrapping around Arc, but he jumped out of it, slashing downward as he fell back down. The second head caught on to his momentary defenselessness, and slammed into him before he reached the ground.

Arc was rolling on the ground, his sword being tossed to the side. He rose from the ground, and his first adversary tried once more to make him it's snack. He rose his shield, and his Aura glowed. It shone fiercely, blinding the two snakes, the first only continuing it's attack because it was close. It bit down...

And met a stone wall. With it's top fangs being blocked by his shield, and it's bottom teeth being held down by Arc's foot, it had nowhere to go. Arc bashed his shield against it's fangs, causing them to break off and shoot down the snake's gullet. Before it could respond, he climbed on top of the beast, and began bashing it's head with his shield again and again. He kept bashing until it smashed into shadowy bits.

He jumped off the monster and grabbed his sword. He stared down the second Taijitu head, whom looked upon him hatefully. The head charged him, to no avail. Arc took one long sidestep, and in one motion slashed down, decapitating the last head. The King Taijitu was dead.

Arc slumped down slightly, trying to catch his breath...

 _"Cheep cheep cheep!"_ Arc swung his head to the side to see Pyrrha hiding in a bush, trying to imitate a rabbit. She had a large smile.

"I'm not sure that's what a rabbit sounds like. You could have helped, you know." Arc said, motioning towards the Taijitu.

"But I wanted to see my man in action! You did great, by the way!" She said, walking over to him. Arc smiles.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Back at Beacon Cliffs, Salem and Emerald were monitoring the students.

"Last pair has finally been formed, ma'am. Pyrrha Nikos and Jaune Arc. Already got a battle couple in freshman year! How about that? Then there's Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren. I don't know HOW Mr. Ren got into Beacon, he's clearly not qualified! Well, sink or swim, I guess..."

"Most of the teams should reach the relics within the next fifteen minutes. By the way, what did you use for relics this time?"

Salem stayed silent.

"Headmistress Salem?"

Salem was observing a Grimm encounter.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yang slashed another Beowolf in half, with three more taking it's place. She slashed three more down, and another ten took it's place. "Grrr... How many of you guys are there?! I really don't have time for this!" One pounces at her. She smacks it away with her sheath before slashing it in half. Another was about to charge, but was killed by an extended blade to the back of the head. Blake appeared, pulling the hilt out of the Beowolf's head.

"Hey, Blakey! Wanna join in?" Yang called over to her.

"Not particularly!" Blake said quickly, grabbing Yang's arm. A Beowolf tried pouncing on the duo, but only slashed air. It looked around in confusion, unable to find the humans it had wanted to kill.

Blake and Yang reappeared a bit further away in the forest.

"Wha-?! Why'd you do that? We had that!" Yang says, frustrated at her partner.

"Because we didn't have to. Killing those Grimm would have been a waste of time and energy. Our only objective is to find the relics, and make it out of the forest. Now that that's all cleared up, let's move." She says with a frown, not happy at her partner's reckless behavior.

"Did you see the relics?" Blake asks.

"Yeah, they're that way." Yang says, pointing to the west.

"Hmph." Blake walks off, not waiting for her.

"Ugh! Beacon's gonna suck..." Yang laments, following her.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weiss and Ruby found the relic site,which was a little more than a stone altar. Weiss walks down, and Ruby follows.

"Chess pieces?" Ruby questions out loud.

"It appears so. Don't get the point, but... whatever." Weiss says, just happy to have found the location.

"Ooh! I call dibs on the pony!" Ruby says, picking up a knight piece.

Weiss tries to scowl at her, but Ruby's happy-go-lucky demeanor cracked through Weiss's serious exterior. She chuckles. "Alright, the pony it is." She said, grabbing another knight piece.

"Well that wasn't too hard!" Ruby said, smiling.

"No, it wasn't. Honestly this place was pathetically easy to find." Weiss said, wondering who the rest of her team will be. Ruby held out he knight piece like a drink glass, waiting for Weiss to tap the pieces. Weiss rolled her eyes, but humored her anyway.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

They both snap their heads in the direction of the scream.

"Some girl needs our help!" Ruby says, about ready to sprint off in the direction of the scream. Meanwhile, Weiss was focused on the sky.

"Weiss, did you hear me?!" Ruby says.

"Uhhhh... Ruby?" Weiss points up. Ruby looks up to see...

"LOOK OUT, SIS!" Yang screamed, falling from the sky.

 **Author's notes: I have an announcement concerning uploading times. Recently I've been spending more time playing video games and overall just spending more time away from RWBY: SWAP. I will not maintain my previous 1 chapter a day uploading schedule, that's just absurd. Expect a new chapter every 3-5 days, at least. Now that that's out of the way, let's get to reviews!**

 **Royal2:**

Ok I will re read it and is Qrow Ruby's farther in this fanfic?

 **No, Qrow is not Ruby's father. Taiyang is.**

 **Seigga:**

Love this concept so far! Can't wait to see where you end up taking it!

One small detail that is bugging me though... Lie is actually Ren's last name.  
He goes by traditional Asian naming conventions where they list the surname or "last" name first; which means that his name is actually "Ren Lie", or Ren of the Lie family.

 **I know, I just thought that in the name of swapping absolutely everything, it'd be interesting to apply that naming convention to Jaune. If it's culturally insensitive, I'm sorry, I'll change it. But I would like confirmation that it's rude first before I go back and change it.**

 **Lord of Memory:**

Awsome keep up the good work. So when cardin comes in will he and velvet swap or will cardin and coco swap.

 **To answer your question: Yes.**

 **Thanks for reading the story so far, see you next episode!**


	6. Chapter 5: Players and Pieces

**Chapter 5: Players and Pieces**

"Weiss, did you hear me?! Ruby says, waving a hand in front of Weiss's face.

"Uhhhh... Ruby?" Weiss points up. Ruby looks up to see...

"LOOK OUT, SIS!" Yang screamed, falling from the sky.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 _Two minutes earlier..._

So Yang had an idea.

It wasn't the best idea. Blake wasn't done complaining about that.

But it was an idea.

An idea that involved an Ursa, an electrified blade, and a whip leash.

"Of COURSE you would suggest this! Only YOU would be crazy enough to suggest this!" Blake screams, trying to control the Grimm.

"Hey! It's faster this way!" Yang yells from behind.

"So? We could have just walked! How did you convince me to do this..?" Blake moans, trying her best not to be thrown off.

"Because we're partn-" She was cut off as the Ursa stopped, gathered all it's strength, and flung Yang off from it's body, sending her flying off towards the relic site.

"Ugh! I knew this would happen! I think..." Blake says, quickly doubting herself.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

So that's how Yang got flung into the sky.

"Don't worry, I've got her!" Weiss yells, preparing a glyph for Yang to land on. She closed her eyes, focused on her blade, and a white glyph appeared in mid-air, slowing down Yang's descent.

As this happened, however, a youth in a sloth hoodie and blue jeans was sent flying towards Yang, intercepting her, and smashing both of them into a nearby tree.

Yang was left sitting on a tree branch, seeing visions of beowolves. "Uuuuuhhh... What was that..?" She moans. She shakes her head, and sees what 'that' was.

Lie was once more upside down, stuck in a tree. "Yang." He greets.

"Oh, hey, Lie." She says, as if this situation was perfectly normal. "How did you get here?"

"Oh, I went into a cave, got chased by a Deathstalker, got flung by said Deathstalker..." He explains.

"Oh, the same old, same old?" She asks genuinely.

"Wait, that's normal for you guys?" He asks, getting increasingly worried.

Back on the ground, Ruby and Weiss were left dumbfounded. "Did your sister just drop out of the sky?" Weiss asks quickly.

"Ummm-"

She was cut off by another scream that was coming from the sky. They looked up to see Arc holding on to Pyrrha as they both fell quickly towards the ground. Arc was terrified, but Pyrrha just seemed to be having fun. She flicked her wrists, and both of their armors were magnetized, and both of their descents slowed down to a crawl, slowly and safely reaching the ground.

Arc was gasping for air. "Pyrrha... PLEASE don't ever make me do that again... You know I'm afraid of heights..." He looks up to see that Pyrrha has already disappeared, and he flings his head around wildly to look for her.

She was already at the relics, and was staring at a rook piece. She smiles and grabs it. "I'm empress of the hippodrome, I'm empress of the hippodrome~!" She sang happily while doing a little dance.

"PYRHHA!" This got her attention.

"Uhhhh, sorry... Coming, Arc!" She said, running over to him.

"Where in the world did they come from?" Weiss asks again.

"They-"

A crashing sound came from the distance, with Nora appearing out of the forest, being closely tailed by the aforementioned Deathstalker. "Ren!"

"Nora!" Ren calls back. Yang gets to her feet and runs after them.

"Yang!" Ren yells, trying to get her to help him down.

Yang lands on the ground, and looks up to see her sister.

"Yang?" Ruby asks, happy to see her sister.

"Ruby!" Yang cries, attempting to hug her sister.

"Pyrrha!" Pyrrha says, appearing between them.

Nora continues to run towards the group, hoping for some help.

"Did she actually run here by herself with a Deathstalker chasing her?" Weiss asks.

"OKAY, STOP!" Ruby suddenly screams. "Every time you ask me a question I get interrupted! Stop asking me questions!"

Weiss looks offended. "It's not my fault you can't finish a sentence." She said sharply.

Arc catches up with the group, leaving him, Pyrrha, Ruby, Yang, and Weiss with two seconds to catch their breath.

"Hello?! Anybody there?!" A voice yells out. Blake appears out of the forest Ursa-free and was looking for Yang.

"Blake! Over here, quick!" Yang calls out worriedly.

Blake manages to reach the group about the same time Nora does.

"Awesome! Everyone's here! Now we can all die as a team!" Ruby says, increasingly frustrated over the situation.

"Not a chance!" Yang says, drawing her sword and charging the Deathstalker.

"Sis! Wait!" Ruby calls, using her super speed to try to catch up with her sister. A sudden cry stopped her in her tracks. A Nevermore appeared in the skies, looking for the two people who rode it here.

"How did a Nevermore get here?!" Weiss asks, more rhetorically than anything.

"We rode it here." Pyrrha says casually.

"You what?!"

"Yeah, how do you think we got so high in the air?" She asks, pointing up.

Arc speaks up. "I wasn't on board with the idea, just saying."

The Nevermore throws a flurry of feathers towards Yang, one of the over-sized, razor-sharp feathers catching her dress. Ruby was caught up in between them, unable to reach her sister.

"Crap! Come on, come on..." Yang muttered, trying to get her dress un-stuck. She hears a scuttling, and she slowly raises her head to see the Deathstalker in front of her, ready to prey upon the hapless Huntress-in-training. It lunges with it's stinger, and Yang raises her sheathe and closes her eyes...

 _Crack!_

The attack never came.

"You're hopeless." A voice told her.

She opens her eyes and sees Blake's form impaled by the Deathstalker. She panics for a moment, before realizing that the Blake she was looking at was made of ice. She looks to her right to see the real Blake.

"Blake..?"

"And reckless, and far too battle-happy. Though... that said, I realize I can be..." She pauses to think of the right thing to say.

"Hard to speak with. But, if we're going to be partners, then we need to work together. So if you stop trying to do everything on your own, then I'll be nicer. Deal?" She asks, offering a hand.

"I'm not trying to show off, I... I just want you to know that I can keep up." She says honestly, with a hint of guilt. She accepts Blake's hand.

"Listen, Yang. You don't have to prove a single thing to me. I believe you can." Blake says, returning her honesty.

The two head back to the rest of the group, Ren having successfully gotten out of the tree earlier.

The Nevermore starts to circle back around.

"Everybody, the Nevermore is making a second run! What's the plan?" Ren asks, drawing his pistols.

Blake speaks up. "We don't have to fight these Grimm. Our objective is to get a relic-" She points at the chess pieces at the altar. "-and report back to Salem."

"She's right." Yang says. "Let's go, we should hurry before the Deathstalker breaks free."

"Run and survive... Finally, something that makes sense!" Ren says in agreement.

The group runs over to the altar, where they each grab a chess piece. Yang and Ren grab theirs, and they share a smile.

The ice replica of Blake was starting to crack... "Alright, everybody! It's time we made tracks!" He called over the group, leading them away from the altar.

Nora had a small smile as He took the lead. He scouted ahead and was making sure nobody got left behind.

"Why are you smiling?" Pyrrha asks her.

"Oh, it's nothing." Nora dismisses.

The group ran along a stone path, running away from the Deathstalker's location as fast as possible. They eventually ran across a huge, spiraling ruin. They took cover behind some stone structures to avoid catching the Nevermore's attention. It landed on top of a tower, screeching at the ground where it knew the students were.

"Great..." Ruby moans.

Ren felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, and he whipped his head around to see the Deathstalker crashing through the trees, having just caught up.

"Everybody, move!" He yells, running towards the path leading to the Nevermore. Everybody else also moves out of cover, run after him.

"Pyrrha, get that thing's attention!" Arc tells Pyrrha. Pyrrha runs to the side, away from the group. The Nevermore fires a flurry of feathers at Pyrrha, who skillfully dodges every last feather. She transforms her spear into a rifle, and starts firing at the giant bird. One shot manages to strike it in the eye.

The Deathstalker charges behind Pyrrha, trying to take advantage of her moment of weakness. Before it could strike, Arc jumps in and blocks it's left stinger, and Weiss conjures an ice wall to block it's right. Blake throws her whip around Pyrrha's waist, and pulls her away.

Ren and Nora were running ahead, and Nora looks back to see Arc and Weiss retreating towards them. She stops and pulls out her grenade launcher. "Keep running!" She yells to Arc as she fires a few rounds at the scorpion menace.

The team outruns the scorpion long enough to make it to a stone bridge. The bridge wasn't wide enough for the Deathstalker to make it across, so it stopped at it's foot.

They continue to run across it, but at the halfway point, The Nevermore flies into the bridge where they stood, destroying the bridge and separating the group. Weiss, Arc, and Nora were stuck fighting the Deathstalker, while Ren, Ruby, Yang, Blake, and Pyrrha were stuck on the other side.

Ren looks over to see the group of three fighting for their lives. "They're losing! We must join up with them!" He says to Pyrrha.

"Yes, let's hurry!" Pyrrha says, turning her rifle back into a spear.

"How do we get across..?" He asks, trying to figure out a solution. Pyrrha smirks.

"Here, hold onto this _really_ tight, alright?" She says, handing him her shield.

"Okay why-" Suddenly the shield was thrown off towards the cliff, along with Ren. She laughs and magnetizes her own armor, giving her the boost across the gap.

"Take this!" She yells, striking the Deathstalker hard enough in the head to pierce it's exoskeleton. It tries to sting her, but she wills her shield back to her side in time to block the strike. The force of the attack, however, was enough to send Pyrrha back and knock into Weiss, sending Weiss off the cliff.

This annoyed her. She formed a glyph and hopped one to the next, forming a series of platforms for herself to reach land again. She lands on a ridge on the tower where Ruby, Blake, and Yang was.

This thing is starting to get annoying." She says simply.

"Then let's take it down!" Yang yells, the blade of her katana splitting into four plates, forming a barrel for a rifle.

The four of them fire at the giant bird, a barrage of Dust-loaded ammunition plowing into the flying Grimm, who simply shrugged it off. It barreled through the tower they stood on, causing each of the girls to find a new platform. They skipped across the falling debris until they reach a stone platform.

Yang looks up to see Ruby firing round after round at the monster.

"We need a new plan." Blake says, looking towards Yang.

"Already got one, let's go!" She says, Blake following.

The Deathstalker struck it's stinger into the foot of the bridge Ren, Arc, Pyrrha, and Nora were standing at, severing the connection the bridge had with the land. The only thing holding the team up was one stone column.

"We need to get off of here! Charge!" Ren yells, charging at the beast while firing his pistols. It tried to strike him with it's right claw, but Nora knocked it to the side with her hammer. It struck with it's left, but Arc blocked it with his shield. It tried to sting Ren, but he stepped out of the way just in time and struck the section between the stinger and tail with the knives of his pistols.

The thing reeled back, taking Ren with it. He held on desperately, continuing to stab the same spot over and over. The thing eventually threw him off, with him landing in the grass.

He looked up to see the stinger dangling from the tail, barely connected. "Cut off the stinger, now!" He yells.

"Got it!" Pyrrha calls, throwing her shield like a discus and severing the stinger.

"Pyrrha, throw me up!" Arc calls.

Pyrrha nods, and magnetizes Arc's armor, throwing him up into the air. He clutched his sword, and fell upon the beast blade-first. He struck the monster where the exoskeleton had been pierced earlier by Pyrrha, causing the sword to pierce it's armor and impale it's brain. The monster went limp, and the team ran onto solid ground. They all collapsed, exhausted from their encounter.

Ruby was still firing rounds at the Nevermore, one of which struck it in it's eye. It roared in annoyance, and flew towards Ruby's position, trying to eat the young student. When it crashed into the pillar Ruby stood on, it found it could not close it's beak.

Ruby was in the thing's mouth. One hand was holding the top half of the beak while she used her feet to hold open the bottom half. She used the opportunity to fire dozens of Burning Rose shells down it's throat.

"I! Hope! You! Like! Bullets! For! Breakfast!" She yells, each word punctuated with a shotgun blast.

She jumped out of the beast's mouth and landed back on a stone platform. The bird loses flight and slams into the side of a cliff, landing on a stone platform and screeching at the four warriors. Now discombobulated, it could not return to the air.

They group up at two stone pillars, ready to put their plan into action.

"Alright, set it up!" Yang yells as Ruby speeds back to the group. Blake throws the bladed end of her whip to Weiss, who lodged it into one of the pillars, while Ruby wrapped the other end around the second pillar, forming a make-shift sling shot aimed at the monster. Yang leaped against the cord, notching it back while Weiss formed a glyph to hold her in place. After a moment to charge, the glyph turned yellow.

"Are you sure you can make the shot?" Yang asked Weiss.

"Of course. Wouldn't agree to this if I couldn't. You sure you can kill the thing?" She asks with a raised eyebrow.

"With one slash." She answers simply. She clutches her sheathed blade, ready to draw her blade at just the right moment.

Weiss releases the glyph, shooting Yang off at the monster. She shoots off like a bullet, the bird staring down its doom. She waited until she was mere inches from the thing's neck, before drawing her blade in the blink of an eye and decapitating it in a single slash.

The other seven students watch on in awe of the great feat.

"My word..." Ren whispers, the sight before him unbelievable.

"Well... that was interesting!" Ruby says, throwing her arms into the air.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Coco Adel, Fox Alistair, Velvet Scarlatina, and Yatsuhashi Daichi." Salem sounded off. All of the students had returned to the academy and were attending initiation. Teams were being formed today, and the eight students eagerly awaited their turn.

"You all found the black bishop pieces. On this day, you will be named... Team CVFY. Lead by... Coco Adel."

The four students take a bow, and walk off the stage. Ren, Pyrrha, Nora, and Arc all take their spots.

"Jaune Arc, Nora Valkyrie, Pyrrha Nikos, and Lie Ren. The four of you have retrieved the white rook pieces. On this day, you will be named... Team JNPR."

Nora smiles at Ren, happy at the team-up. Pyrrha suddenly kisses Arc, who returned the sentiment, much to the crowd's cheers. Salem simply smiles.

"You will be lead by..." Ren was looking at Nora, waiting for the expected announcement. "Lie Ren."  
"B-Beg your pardon?!" Ren stammers, staring incredulously at Salem.

"Lead by Lie Ren." She repeats. "You've earned it, young man."

Nora shakes his shoulder. "Nice one! I knew you'd make a good teammate."

They all leave the stage to make room for the final team. "And finally, Ruby Rose, Blake Belladonna, Yang Xiao Long, and Weiss Schnee." The four walk up to the stage. "You four have acquired the white knight pieces. From now on, you will be known as... Team RWBY. Lead by... Yang Xiao Long." She declares.

Ruby hugs her big sister. "Nice, sis! I always knew you'd be the perfect leader." She says confidently.

Salem looks over her new students, a small smile creeping onto her face. "Things are looking to be... fairly interesting this year."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In a warehouse in an unknown location in Vale, Hei Xiong was looking over a map of Vale, trying to piece together a plan. A mook in a white outfit and mask walked up behind him, pushing a cart.

Hei Xiong looks at the henchman. "Open it."

The henchman opens the cart to show a wide variety of different Dust crystals. He flashes a stack of lien, and hands it to Junior. Hei Xiong takes a long look at the map.

"Tell everyone to pack up. We're moving."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait! Been plaing a lot of Final Fantasy XV, got the new DLCs!**

 **On to reviews!**

 **Royal2:**

So why is Ruby looking for Qrow then?

 **All will be revealed down the line...**

 **Bomberguy789:**

So Roman is Junior, Junior is Roman, Neo is that pair that no one really cares about because they appeared twice, and neither mattered a whole lot, Weiss is nice (and it shall rhyme a maximum of thrice), Ruby is sort of Yang, Yang is sort of Ruby, Salem is sort of Ozpin, Emerald is sort of Glynda, this sort of confirmed that CRDL is CFVY and vice versa, Glynda is Cinder, Jaune and Pyrrha are Nora and Ren, Ren and Nora are Jaune and Pyrrha, and with luck the deathstalker will be some sort of creeper horde with a bunch of gryphons too. Creepers because they're are never used, and Gryphons for the same reason.  
Still, good work, good luck, and have a good day!

 **Awww, you have a good day, too! Thanks for the feedback!**

 **See you all next episode!**


	7. Paralogue 2: Black

**Paralogue 2: "Black"**

In a stadium in Atlas, Blake Belladonna was prepared to perform a ballet for the social elite, whom were all faunus. The event was a popularity booster for the Belladonna Dust company, celebrating their independence from human subjugation, even if that meant demonizing the whole human race. Blake stood in the middle of the stage, giving a bow before the dance begun.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Blake Belladonna!" The announcer said, the crowd giving a polite cheer.

A slow, melancholic piano score began to play, with a singer in the background providing an equally slow song.

 _Born with..._

 _No life..._

 _Into subjugation..._

 _Treated..._

 _Like a..._

 _Worthless animal..._

Blake danced a deliberate waltz, slowly making her way around he stage. The movements, the atmosphere, it all reminded her of the test she undertook to gain the right to attend Beacon Academy...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

She stood with her blade drawn, staring down the massive suit of armor who wielded a massive claymore. The armor, possessed by a Geist Grimm, was her opponent, but more than that, it was her final obstacle in attending Beacon Academy and distancing herself from her father.

The armor, titled by the observers as the 'Gigas Armor', made the first move. It charged Blake and swung it's sword down at Blake's position. Blake dodged the slash and threw her whip's bladed end around the Gigas Armor's neck, pulling the metal abomination closer to Blake and giving her enough momentum to launch herself forward and deliver several slashes across it's helmet.

It seemingly flinched, but reeled around and wildly swung it's over-sized blade towards Blake once more. It seemingly cut right through her, but her body dissolved into shadow as the real Blake appeared around it's feet, slashing at it's ankles. It tried to stomp on the far smaller warrior, but she leaped backwards and threw her bladed whip at it's sword arm, embedding itself in it's wrist.

The Gigas Armor doesn't seem to care, and takes advantage of this. It pulled it's arm back, taking Blake with it. While she was stuck in the air, it punched her across the room, her rolling across the ground as she landed.

She rose slowly, and tried to open her eyes. She could still see out of the right eye clearly, but the left cold only see red. She felt her face, and looked to see her hand covered in blood. She should have felt fear. She should have felt regret.

But all she could feel was anger.

She picked up her weapon and charged the Gigas Armor once more. It sweeps it's blade in a horizontal arc, but Blake leaps over the sword, jumping onto the armor's shoulder, and running down the length of it's arm. Once she reaches the wrist, she slashes where her blade originally was lodged and severed the hand of the armor.

It reels back in surprise, allowing Blake to create some distance. The armor charges at Blake, swinging it's left fist at her. She flash steps behind her, leaving a frozen copy of herself frozen around it's fist, leaving it stuck. With it now vulnerable, she jumps into the air, clutching her blade with both hands as she beheads the massive suit of armor.

The Geist leaves the armor behind, trying to escape somewhere else. Blake loads her gun, and fires at the Geist, felling it in one shot. The pitiful creature dissolved into shadow, leaving no trace of itself in this world.

She passed the test.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Blake had reached the end of the dance, and she was surprised that she had spaced out for most of it. The audience clapped for her, and she returned a curtsy. She walked off the stage, heading for the limo. Normally she'd wonder if she missed a step, and if Father would chastise her over it, but right now she was just concerned with packing up her belongings.

She had to get ready to leave, after all.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: Sorry for the short chapter. It's like, pitifully short, but Weiss's trailer is essentially a three minute long fight scene, and I don't have the experience to expand that any longer than 600 words right now (The Author's Notes are almost as long as the actual chapter). On the other hand, it didn't take long at all to write.**

 **I've also decide that each trailer will be spaced out by two episodes each, so expect Weiss's trailer after chapter 7, and Yang's after chapter 9.**

 **Anyways, on to reviews!**

 **Bomberguy789:**

Could the team names not have been switched around so that the leader's name is the first letter? Like team RAVN (Raven), or team... okay, that one IS a heck of a lot harder, but maybe there's something out there?  
Otherwise, this chapter was still pretty cool, even if I do think that an ice sculpture of Blake would not be able to hold up against a Deathstalker for any amount of time. Hell, it's more likely the deathstalker would have just picked up the ice sculpture along with its tail. Anyway, good luck with your next chapter!

 **It is INCREDIBLY hard trying to rearrange the names to be some form of color. I eventually decided it wasn't worth the effort, but if any of you guys want to submit a team name over private messaging, I'd be happy to listen. If I like it enough, I'll even go back and switch it! (As a reminder, the team name has to be a color or shade, and raven can refer to a myriad of colors. I had to Google it.)  
**

 **And about the Deathstalker, I was running out of creative juices for that chapter. Sorry.**

 **Lord of Memory**

Keep up the good work I enjoy reading your fanfiction.  


 **I will! Thanks for reading!**

 **Seigga**

Hey there, me again!

Thanks for replying to my review last chapter! Always love it when authors get involved. In regards to your name swapping with Jaune and Ren, its not so much insensitive as it is nonsensical. But if you want to keep it the way it is, then by all means you do you.

Still loving the story by the way, keep up the good work!

 **I also like it when authors get involved, and honestly? Responding to your guys' comments is one of the most enjoyable aspects of this fanfic! Thank you all so much. About the name, I want to keep the name swap as it is because Jaune has a reason why he wants people to refer to him by his last name. Thanks for reading!**

 **Royal2**

Who is Cinder going to be swapped to?  


 **Well, I can't just say that, now can I? Keep reading and find out!**


	8. Chapter 6: The Badge and the Burden

**Chapter 6: The Badge and the Burden**

Blake woke up with a smile on her face, which was rare for the normally grumpy cat faunus. She had a perfect rest, her hair wasn't in knots, and her position on the bed meant that sunlight wasn't in her eyes when she woke up. She was out of her mansion, in one of the most prestigious Huntsmen Academies in Remnant, and was perfectly rested and prepared for the day ahead. Nothing could sour her mood! She sat up on her bed, and let out a yawn. She was so relaxed...

She looked to her right, and saw Ruby standing with her uniform on, a smirk on her face, and a whistle in her mouth. Blake didn't have time to comprehend the sight before her before Ruby took action.

 _SQUEEEEAAAAAAAKKK!_

Blake crashed out of her bed, horribly startled by the terrible noise filling the room. She accidentally lets out a hiss, and fumbles to her feet. "... What... in the _world_..."

"Redecorating time!" Ruby cheers. She runs next to the other two awake members of the team, also in uniform.

Yang speaks up. "I'm so sorry. Ruby really wanted to decorate. We waited for you to wake up, but I didn't know she would do _that_." She glares at her sister. "I'm not sharing you my cookies because of that."

"Noooooooo!" Ruby whines.

"Besides, most of us still have to unpack." Weiss explains.

Blake shoots them all a grumpy expression, clearly not amused. "Fine. Let's gets this over with." She says while rolling her eyes.

"Alright! First team assignment, reorganize the bedroom!" Yang says, getting more enthusiastic about it. "Banzai!" She cheers.

"Banzai!" Ruby and Weiss cheer back, though Weiss was thinking it was more than a little dorky. Blake gets up without a word and starts unpacking.

Ruby posts up a poster of the "Achieve-mens.", a group of video streamers Ruby watches all the time. Yang was a fan, too.

Blake, having already changed into her uniform, put up an elaborate and fine painting depicting a pink-hued forest and river.

Weiss was stacking her books onto the bookshelf, one of which was "The Lovely Nobles." Her eyes widen once she realized she brought it with her and quickly stuffed it between two books on the shelf. She looks around to make sure nobody noticed.

Yang was finishing up putting up the curtains, a lovely shade of velvet. After she hangs them up, she shoves them to the side to let in the sunlight.

They had all finished decorating their rooms, and they stood back to admire it.

And the four beds that were stack on top of each other to make room for the decorations.

"That's... unfortunate." Blake says.

"How in the world will we make room for everything?" Weiss asks out loud.

"We could get some sleeping bags and get rid of the beds." Ruby suggests.

"Absolutely not." Yang says sternly.

"What if we made the four beds into two bunk beds?" Ruby suggests, surprisingly helpful.

"Something like that would be incredibly unsafe." Blake points out.

"Well... it _could_ work." Yang says hesitantly.

"It might honestly be the only way to fit everything" Weiss says.

"Well, we should put it to a vote." Blake says quickly.

"I think we just did." Yang says slightly smug. Blake shoots a glare her way.

"Fine." Blake says, not happy with the current circumstances.

They shoot off towards the beds, beginning work on the soon-to-be bunk beds. With a whir of sawing, gluing, hammering, welding, sewing, manufacturing, and... was that a sheep baying?

The beds were complete... Well, as complete as the two beds could be. One was suspended with rope like a hammock, while the other just had a stack of books under each leg to boost it high enough over the other bed.

"Well, success?" Yang asks. "At least we got it out of the way. Now the next thing we have to do is..." She checks her schedule book. "... Classes." She says disappointed. "We have a few classes together, the first one is at 9:00-"

"Wait, 9:00?!" Blake suddenly exclaims.

"Y-yeah..?" Yang asks, suddenly filled with worry.

"It's 8:55 right now! Hurry!" She says, racing out the door and down the hall.

Team JNPR each poke their heads out of their dorm room, which was coincidentally directly across from Team RWBY. The rest of Team RWBY race after Blake.

"C-Classes?" Ren asks out loud. Suddenly, Nora loses her balance, causing the other three team members to also fall over. Ren was the first one up and running.

"Gonnabelategonnabelategonnabelate!" He says, racing towards his class. He manages to catch up with Team RWBY, and even manages to surpass them.

"Since when did Scrawny get so fast?!" Blake yells.

Both teams run through the central courtyard, the only path to their next class. Headmistress Salem and Professor Sustrai walk through, interested at the sight. Emerald checks her watch.

"Will they make it?" Salem asks, mildly curious.

"They got one minute. I think they'll make it." She says, putting mental bets on who would be last.

"Interesting." Salem says, pensively taking a sip out of her mug.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"History, math, and science are great and all, but let's be honest, the REAL reason you are all here is to hunt the malicious creatures of Grimm." Professor Hazel Rainart said, his soft-spoken voice still booming throughout the room.

"But before we start, I will tell you all a story. As a young man, I performed many a courageous feat, to which my teachers applauded me. I managed to defeat any Grimm sent my way, and I came to learn that the only limit I had, was that I couldn't be everywhere at once. That's why I decided to become a Professor, so that I can teach you all what I have learned over the years, and preserve my legacy." He says, his amazing speech having ignited the passions of exactly zero students.

 _'Let's hope he at least knows what he's talking about.'_ Blake thinks, opening up her text book. She looks over to Yang, who was dozing off. Blake nudges her side.

"Wha-huh?" Yang asks intelligently.

"Yang. We have class." Blake reminds her.

"Oh, sorry..." Yang says, embarrassed. Yang was trying to pay attention, really, she was! But every time she tried to focus his voice just turned into a bunch of "blah blah blahs." Yang's mind wandered. _'Gods, why can't I just go back to bed? Ruby's stupid project got me up at 7:00... She's so not getting any cookies today. Shame, too. Mother baked them for the trip. I wonder what's for lunch today? I hope they have pizza, maybe even meat-lovers. What I wouldn't give for something to eat right now... I wonder if they released anymore episodes of 'Nomad of Nowhere' yet? Looks interesting...'_

"-ang." A distant voice said to her.

Yang initially paid no head to the voice, but a few seconds passed and she started to put the pieces together.

" _Yang!"_ Blake said once more, whispering furiously.

"... Huh?" She asks, raising her head from the desk.

"You fell asleep again! What's the matter with you?!" Blake whispers, not wanting to garner the attention of the teacher.

"Sorry... Ruby got me up at 7:00... not as much sleep as I wanted." She explains.

Blake's expression softened slightly. "Well, you should still try to control yourself. You're our leader, so you have to set an example for the rest of the team."

"I know, I'm trying. Again, I'm sorry." Yang repeats.

"It's alright. I'll share my notes if you can't keep up with everything." Blake offers, giving her best attempt at a reassuring smile.

Yang smiles back. "Thanks, Blake."

"-and with that, the Ursa fell to pieces. But enough with stories, who among you believe yourselves to be able warriors?" Professor Rainart asks the class. Blake raises her hand.

"Then come down, I have a live specimen ready for combat. Grab your weapon, and prepare for the hunt." He says seriously.

Blake leans over to Yang. "Let's hope this fight will wake you up." She says, her snarkiness giving way to a kinder side of her.

She retrieves her blade, and heads into the arena,where a shaking cage lay at the opposite end.

"Are you prepared? You may not use any live ammunition in this fight." Professor Rainart asks.

"I'm prepared." Blake affirms.

"Good. May the hunt..." He grabs the lock on the cage. "Begin!"

He rips off the lock with pure strength, and a Boarbatusk charges out, attacking the first thing it saw. In this case, Blake.

Blake stepped to the side, avoiding the Boarbatusk's charge and returning a slash to it's side. Her blade bounced off the monster's side, armor encasing most of it's body. It took it's time turning around, so Blake uncoiled her blade and swung it at the distant Grimm. The otherwise impressive strike bounced off the beast's armor, as it turned around and prepared to charge.

"Blake! You have to target it's belly!" Yang yells from her seat.

"Yang! Not right now!" Blake yells back.

The Boarbatusk coiled up into a ball, before rolling at high speeds at the cat faunus. She leaps into the air, landing behind it. Blake throws the bladed edge of her whip into a nearby wall, ready to put her plan into action. The Boarbatusk turned around, and too tired to spin attack, it charged normally at her. She ducks to the side and pulls hard on her whip, creating a tripwire that causes the monster to fall forward and land on it's back. Blake wasted no time in yanking out her blade and whipping it into the beast's stomach from her original position.

"Well done, Blake Belladonna. You are indeed prepared to undertake this class. Take your seat." Rainart says, about to go into his next subject.

Blake sits down and sends Yang a glare, who looked hurt.

Lie was sitting with the rest of his team, each looking worried. "I wonder what's bothering her?"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

After class, Yang ran after Blake, who stormed off as soon as class ended. "Blake! What's going on? Did I do something wrong?"

"Blake turns around to look at her. "You shouldn't have helped me." She says simply.

"What? Why wouldn't you want help? You didn't know where-"

"You don't know that!" Blake interrupts, looking furious. "I might have been able to figure it out on my own, or I may have failed miserably! That's the point. These classes are made to determine who is worthy of being in Beacon, and who should just leave. If I can't do this on my own, then I shouldn't get any help... Least of all from you." She says, dejectedly. She runs off again, her stoic facade broken.

Yang was heartbroken, not because Blake's words cut her, but because she was only starting to realize what kind of pain Blake has to be bearing to carry that mindset. And what made it worse was that she didn't know what to do. She wasn't sure if she should chase after her, let her be, try to call her, or wait for her to come back to their dorm.

She was left standing there, paralyzed. She only broke out of her stupor once she heard footsteps behind her. She turns around to see Headmistress Salem approaching her.

"Miss Xiao Long." She addresses politely, treading carefully.

"P-Professor Salem! I-I mean Headmistress Salem! O-Or is there any other-" She stutters, her mind still a complete mess.

Salem raises her hand. "'Professor' suits me just fine."

Yang was surprised for a second. She regained her composure after a moment, and continued. "Professor Salem, did you hear..?" She asks, somewhat nervous.

"Yes, I did. Miss Belladonna is in a... fragile state, so to speak. She has many misconceptions about the world due to her upbringing. Give her time, and she will return to us." Salem says, reassuring the child.

Yang's worried look remained, but was shared by a sense of determination. "Alright, well what should I do until then? How can I help her after she comes back?"

Salem wasn't surprised by the question, but was happy she asked anyway. "I would recommend studying. A leader must always be a symbol of strength and confidence. It is not a title to be thrown around, but a badge of authority. Should you take it off for even a moment, you forfeit your leadership forever." She says, her wise and powerful words demonstrating her point.

Salem then gives a small smile. "It would also let you catch up on the studies you slept through this morning."

Yang sheepishly rubs her neck and gives an embarrassed laugh. "Which page?"

"Seventy-five through eighty. Be sure to fill in the open ended questions, too, dear." Salem says in a sickeningly polite voice, before walking off.

Yang groans. "Dammit, Ruby..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Blake was walking around the school grounds, still sulking. She makes it to the balconies, and sees Professor Rainart looking out into the distance. He seemed... sad. Forlorn, in a way.

"Professor Rainart." Blake says, getting his attention.

He turns around. "Ah, Miss Belladonna. What's the matter, child?" He asks gently.

"I'm... I'm not sure if I'm qualified for Beacon Academy." Blake says honestly.

He could see where this conversation was going. "Where would you get such a silly idea like that? You passed the entrance exams just like everyone else. You've earned your place in this academy." He reassures.

"But I couldn't even kill a single Grimm on my own. If Yang hadn't told me it's weak point-"

"So what if you had some assistance? You completed the objective." He knows that isn't the point, but asks anyways to try to get a more insightful response.

"Because what good am I when everyone else has to do MY job?" Blake says, her haughty demeanor cracking . "How can I ever be a Huntress if I can't win any fights on my own? I've always had everything brought to me on a silver platter, but now, when I try to work for myself, I need someone else to explain it. What good can I really be to these people?"

Rainart simply walks over, and puts his hand on Blake's shoulder. "Listen, Blake. If we only measured ourselves based on what we do alone, we'd never make it anywhere. Our greatest accomplishments are made when we have our friends and loved ones by our sides." He takes a moment to put the rest of his thoughts into words.

"I may excite the classroom with riveting tales of my heroism, but let me tell you that under all of that embellishment, the only reason I could accomplish any of that was because my team was there to support me, to pick me back up when I fell, and to pick up the slack where I failed. As teammates, it isn't our jobs to fulfill a role, but to fulfill one duty: protecting our friends. There is nothing more important than that." He says, regretting showing on his face.

"It is also our job to heed the word of our leader, because their judgment and strategies are what keep us on the path to victory." He gives a smile.

"If you need a second opinion, I'd ask Headmistress Salem. She's never lead me astray."

Blake thinks about it for a second. "No... I think I understand, now. Thank you, Professor." She says, slowly nodding her head.

Rainart stands up as well. "If you ever need anything, don't hesitate to ask."

Blake smiles, starting to feel relieved. "I won't. Have a good day, Professor."

"You as well, Blake." He says genuinely, happy he could help a student-in-need.

Blake looks around the balcony, and notices the sun was setting. _'Have I really been gone that long? I need to get back to the dorm...'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Blake opens the door to their dorm, the moon having already risen over Remnant. She peaks her head inside to see Weiss and Ruby already asleep, but was surprised to see Yang having fallen asleep with a pencil in hand, and a textbook in front of her. She had a candle lit next to her.

Blake stands on her bed to reach Yang's position. She shakes Yang's shoulder.

"Mmmmm... Wha..? Oh, Blake! Sorry... I fell asleep trying to study and..." Yang starts, scared Blake would be upset.

"It's fine." Blake said quickly. "You don't have to stay up any longer if you don't want to. I just wanted to say... sorry, for blowing up at you earlier. You didn't deserve it, you were just doing your job as leader. And I also wanted to say... thanks. You know, for the same reason."

Yang didn't know what to say. "Wow... Thanks, Blake! I promise, I'll be a good leader soon. I won't let you down." Yang says confidently.

"You're already a good leader, Yang." Blake says honestly, without hesitation. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Blake." Yang says, exhausted.

"Oh, and one more thing." Blake adds. "I'm still mad at your sister for the whistle, but... I guess, this morning wasn't too bad. I had fun." She says, getting into bed.

Yang smiles. "Me, too." She puts away her school supplies, deciding page seventy-eight was good enough to stop on, blows out her candle, and goes to sleep.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: I gotta say, I wasn't expecting this chapter to be so long. I originally intended for this to be pretty short, to highlight how Blake's problems didn't lie with Yang's authority, but somewhere down the line it manifested into a new character trait for swapped Blake! Surprised myself with that one.**

 **Also, I've been thinking about whether or not to do a CHIBI SWAP fanfic. All the same character swaps, but in RWBY: CHIBI! What do you guys think?**

 **Anyway, on to reviews!**

 **DarkDevilKnight:** Well this is getting interesting so far, but now after reading fanfic's like this suddenly made me realize that I REALLY need to get back into writing updates on my own stories (especially the RWBY crossover after seeing volume 5 and chibi spinoff ) first on comments though.

1st: Awesome on the Arkos pairing from last chapter, even if others would criticized it.

2nd: I hope later in the chapter there be like a mother daughter bonding experience between Raven an Yang weither through training or something else.

I'm not putting up hope here but it's something.

 **I was worried some people wouldn't like the instant Arkos pairing, but I just couldn't help it! They had such a tragic end in the show, so I'm making up for all the time lost in here!**

 **And about Raven and Yang, don't worry, it's already being planned out! :D**

 **Bomberguy789:** Well, Coffee can also be a large number of colours as well (black coffee, for example), but I do see your point. Oh well, I guess.  
Still, nice work with this chapter as well. I'm pretty interested to see what's different in terms of the human-Faunus relations.

 **I have trouble implementing colors as plot points into stories, unless their the central focus.**

 **And the whole human-faunus deal is... interesting, to say the least. Let's just say it isn't a clean break between the two species.**

 **XenoVise:**

Lol, I just realized something about Cinder and Amber. It literally surprised me to be honest.

 **? What is it?**

 **Royal2:**

Ok and I keep on forgetting to ask but is Ruby going to be overprotective of Yang or is Yang still going to be overprotective of Ruby?

 **Yang is definitely going to be overprotective of Ruby. She fills the role of a responsible sibling far more than her canon counterpart.**

 **Thanks for reading, and see you guys next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 7: Liece

**Chapter 7: Liece**

Ren was exhausted.

His punk-rocker opponent never gave him any chance to attack, simply content on letting Ren make mistake after mistake.

He could barely hold his pistols up to his opponent, Coco Adel, let alone launch an assault. He checked his scroll to see that his Aura was almost in the red, meanwhile Coco hadn't taken a single hit yet. With the spotlight on him, in the middle of the darkness-filled arena, he couldn't feel more ashamed.

In a blind rage, he gathered enough strength to charge at Coco. He raised both knives and sliced them downwards towards Coco, throwing all of his weight behind the slash. She takes a simple step to the right, letting Ren trip over himself trying to recover from his own attack. He turns around, just in time to see her smash her weapon-ized handbag into his midsection. The force of the blow sent him across the stadium.

He somehow found it in himself to rise to his feet again. He pointed both pistols at his opponent and unleashed a hail of light bullets. Coco raised her handbag in front of her, using it as a shield.

 _Click!_

 _Click!_

Ren had run out of bullets to fire. He grunts, and charges at Coco again. His blades connected with her handbag, leaving the two at a stalemate.

"Sorry, Pretty-Boy, but this match is mine." Coco says, dripping with condescension.

Ren was defiant. "This isn't over until I- OOF!" A swift kick to the groin cut off whatever he was going to say. He crumpled to the ground, the final bits of his energy spent.

The rest of the classroom had it's lights restored. The students to Mrs. Sustrai's class had all spectated the match.

"And that's a wrap!" Professor Sustrai called. "As you can see, Mr. Ren's Aura level is in the red. This means that in a tournament or sparing match, he would lose." She looks over to Ren, who was trying to rise to his feet. "Mr. Ren, it's been three weeks. If you cannot win using your current tactics, you have to change. Otherwise, you'll make the same mistakes again and again." She chastises.

Coco chuckles. "Amateur." She mutters, walking off the stage.

Professor Sustrai turns to the class. "And as a reminder, the Vytal Festival will be in a few months. As soon as a week from now, students from other kingdoms will be arriving here at Vale, so train! Make a name for yourself!" She says, she herself excited for the tournament.

Ren hangs his head, disappointed with himself. Nora gives him a sympathetic look.

"Today is not my day..." He mutters to himself.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was lunch time, the period where students could eat, relax, and socialize with friends. Pyrrha Nikos was making the most of it.

"It was in the dead of midnight..." She says, trying to tell her wild story.

"It was 3:00 in the afternoon." Arc deadpans.

Out of all of their friends in both Team RWBY and JNPR, only Ruby seemed to be listening. Though Ruby made up for it by being genuinely excited for her story.

"All paths of escape were enclosed by Beringels!"

"They were Creeps."

"We confronted approximately thirteen of them!"

"There were four."

Pyrrha puts on a proud expression. "But they were no match for our strength and cunning. _Post-mortem_ , we collected the bounties each Grimm had on their heads."

Arc sighs. "Ever since we watched the one show you recommended us, Ruby, she's been having this same dream every other night. I'm holding you responsible!" He says, with pretend irritability.

Ren, meanwhile, was spacing out. He was mostly just poking at his pasta. Nora and Yang had taken notice, and looked at each other worriedly.

"Uhh... Ren? You alright?" Nora asks, raising an eyebrow.

Lie sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No, I'm not. Coco Adel and her motley gang of bullies have been driving me crazy! Not a day goes by where they don't show up to harass me. One of these days..." He groans, their bullying made all the worse from his defeat at Coco's hands.

"They really are the worst. How much fun can being a bully be?" Yang asks rhetorically. She shakes her head, having known a few people like that back in Patch.

They hear a group at a nearby table start getting rowdy. They look over to see Coco and her team picking on a student with a mohawk.

"Nice haircut, shrimp!"

"Did your mom make it for you?"

"Where did you get the idea? From a comic book?"

The insults continued, and they started to pull on the spikes of his hair.

"H-Hey! Let go! K-Knock it off!" He yelled, obviously scared.

"People like them are disgusting." Yang says, frowning.

"They suck! We should teach them a lesson." Nora says, ready to defend her friend.

"Oh! I know what we could do!" Pyrrha says, raising her hand.

"What is it, Pyrrha?" Weiss asks, the first time she's spoken since lunch started.

"We'll maim them!" Pyrrha says with near psychotic enthusiasm. Everyone at the table recoil at Pyrrha's 'suggestion'. Ruby did a spit take, Weiss slams her book closed, and Blake nearly faints. Only Arc didn't seem surprised.

"Pyrrha. What. The. Hell." Ruby says, as if looking at a demon. Yang didn't even bother calling Ruby out on her language.

"What? It will get them to stop picking on students." She points out.

Arc sighs, as if he's had to deal with this before. "Maiming them won't help. You'll just get suspended, and then they'll keep on harassing students like before." He explains. He looks across the table. "We can figure out a better, more peaceful solution to this. Right, Lie?"

Lie was mysteriously absent from the table. "Wait, where'd he go?!" The group of friends look around and eventually see him walking towards Team CFVY.

"Crap!" Nora yells, running after Ren.

Coco was still pulling at the student's hair. Ren stomped over and threw Coco's arm off from the student. "Leave. Now." Ren says, trying to sound intimidating.

Coco looked like she was about to burst out laughing. She held her composure, even if the rest of her team couldn't.

"That's rich. Why, exactly, should I listen to you?" She asks, pulling down her sunglasses so she could look at him directly.

"I've had enough of your mistreatment! Everyone has! So do everyone a favor, and cut it out!" He said, surprisingly brave.

Coco was still amused, but the longer he stood there, the more irritated she grew. "Alright, pipsqueak, this is cute, but I gotta ask you to scooch back to whatever bargain store you got your clothes from." She says, popping a cocky smirk.

"At least my outfit doesn't look like the local Hot Topic vomited on me." Ren snaps back.

All previous humor in Coco's expression drained away the moment he finished his statement. The rest of her team stopped laughing as well. " _Come again?_ "

Coco takes a step towards Lie, but stops as Teams RWBY and JNPR reach his side, supporting him. The lunch room takes notice of this, and several groups of students start watching the event unfold.

"Alright, alright! Everyone, knock it off!" A voice called out. Professor Emerald Sustrai walks in, and begins to disperse the crowd. "If you all want to knock each others' brains out, then wait to do it in my class! Way safer, and you can actually learn something from it, too."

Teams RWBY and JNPR return to their seats, and Team CFVY decide to find a different table to sit. Coco glares at Ren, thinking on how to get payback...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Lunch was over, and the students were now taking history. History was never Ren's strong suit, it just never interested him! He couldn't help but fall asleep, even when everyone else was following along just fine.

Their teacher mostly stayed behind his desk while he was teaching or testing the class. He was definitely one of the more... interesting teachers, to say the least. He would recount the casualties of every battle they went over on the Great War. He would nearly die of laughter from even the lamest pun (Looking at you Ruby). But by far, the most interesting thing about him was the massive scorpion tail dangling behind him.

"- So before the Faunus rights Revolution, or as some of you might be more familiar with, the Faunus War, most of humankind was determined to focus the faunus population on the continent of Menagerie." The Professor takes a moment to breath.

"Now, I understand that some of this may seem like old news, but this all happened less than a century ago! The actions of those in the war still affect our lives today, so we must pay our respects to these brave individuals by learning what they have done for us." He walks in front of his desk.

"Now, this may be a touchy subject for some, but I wish to ask if any of you have been discriminated against for your faunus heritage." He says, waiting for a response. Several students raise their hands, including Blake and Velvet Scarletina. After a moment, the Professor raises his hand with his students.

"It's a terrible burden to bear, but one we can endure. Remember, everyone! So long as such ignorant actions continue, violence will spread among human and faunus alike! The White Fang are a perfect example. They were once an organization formed to promote peace and coexistence between our two races! But now, they are little more than a terrorist organization, using bloody and disturbing tactics to earn recognition. A sad fate indeed..." He looks at the floor sadly... before snapping his head back up.

"Now, who can tell me what is believed to be the turning point in the third year of the war?" He asks, looking around.

Blake raises her hand. "The Battle of Fort Castle." She says proudly.

"Exactly! There victory here killed off about a quarter of the Human military in this conflict! Now, who can tell me what advantage the Faunus Army had over General Lagune's?" He asks the class again.

Coco was sitting in the back of class, making a paper football. She took aim at Ren, and flicked it across the room, and hit him square in the back of his head. She silently cheered, a bit too proud of herself. The paper football knocked Ren out of his sleep, and the Professor took notice.

"Mr. Ren, it's great to have you back in the classroom, and not in dreamland! Now, can you answer my question?" He asks.

Lie was frozen for a few moments. "Ummm... Pardon me for asking, Professor..?"

"That's _Doctor_ Tyrian Callows, to you." He snaps, making it clear what he should be addressed by. He didn't spend those years getting a PhD for fun, thank you very much!

"Doctor Callows... what, exactly was the question?" He asked sheepishly.

"What was the advantage the Faunus army, led by General Duscae, have over General Lagune's? You know, massive human casualties, turned the war on it's head, and created a legend?" He asked once more, glaring at the student.

"Their advantage... Yes..." He says slowly, trying to buy some time. He notices Nora waving to him from behind Doctor Callows's back. She was gesturing to her eyes.

"The advantage General Duscae had over the Human army was..." He was trying to make sense of Nora's crazy hand movements, which had become more erratic with each passing second.

"T-They saw them first!" Ren says, a little too loudly.

"... What?" Doctor Callows asks, not sure what he was getting at.

"Uhm... They laid a trap! They managed to scout out Lagune's forces and lay a trap in advanced!" Ren says, praying to the gods he was right.

"A mighty effort, Mr. Ren, but no cigar. If you payed attention during class and not enjoying a conversation with Mr. Sandman, you would know." He says, much to Lie's disappointment.

Coco was laughing in the back of the class. "And what of you, Ms. Adel? If you have time during class to fling around wads of paper, then surely you must already know all of this?" He asks, causing Coco to freeze.

"... Well, General Lagune lost because... He underestimated the Faunus forces?" She says, phrasing it more like a question.

"If you have to ask a vague question like that, then you need to start paying attention as well. Does anyone know the answer?" He asks the class.

Nora raises her hand. "They had night vision! The General attacked at night, trying to hit the Faunus Army while they were napping, but since faunus can see in the dark, the Human Army couldn't fight back." Nora explained.

"Exactly! With the advantage of the night, General Duscae managed to slaughter the far larger enemy force and take Lagune captive. Thank you, Ms. Valkyrie. Now, moving on..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The rest of the class went by in a haze. Ren was pretty depressed after that.

The bell rang. "Have a good day, students! Mr. Ren, Ms. Adel, I want you two to stay after class." He states. Both of them groan.

Pyrrha, Arc, and Nora each walk out of class. Nora hesitates, however. "You guys go ahead, I'll wait for Ren." She says, Arc and Pyrrha nod, and walk off.

Back in class, Doctor Callows was lecturing the two students. "Since the first day of classes, you two have been having difficulties keeping up with the rest of the students. It's disappointing, really. You both have worked extremely hard to earn your spots in this academy, and yet you both decide to waste this opportunity by slacking off. I can't say if it's because the material doesn't click, or if you simply don't care, but let me tell you now... you're just going to end up digging yourself into a hole. I don't want to beat a dead horse by saying this, but if you don't learn from history, you are destined to repeat it." He says, hoping to strike a chord in these students. He jabs his stinger between a loop in his binder, bringing it into his hands without ever turning around.

"Now, as extra credit, I want both of you to write a five page essay, pages 51-91. Bring it to me by the beginning of next class. Dismissed." He states, walking out of the room and towards the teachers' lounge.

Ren and Coco walk out of the room, Coco taking the opportunity to trip him up. He fell to the ground hearing Coco's snickers. Nora runs over to help him up.

"Damn you, Coco..." He mutters.

Nora was saddened to see her friend in such a state, but then she gets an idea. "Follow me! I have a neat idea!" She yells, despite being only a few feet from Ren. She grabs him by the arm and drags him off towards her destination.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

They reach their destination, a spacious rooftop overlooking the city. Ren looks over the edge.

"Nora, I realize I've been rather depressed lately, but I'm pretty sure this isn't the answer. I could always become a tailor, or something to do with making clothes." He says. Nora looked confused, before looking back and forth between him and the edge of the rooftop. She suddenly realizes what this looks like.

"NO! Not that! That's not why I dragged you here!" She yells, pulling him away from the edge.

"Ren, look... You're having a tough time in class, and you're still having a difficult time fighting people, so I thought 'Why not do some training up here?' After class, we can come up here and do some private training! We'll get you into winning shape in no time!" She says, smiling.

"... You think I need help?" He asks, sounding slightly hurt.

"Ren, you've been falling behind in most of your classes. I know it isn't the greatest thing to hear, but it's okay! You passed the tests to make it into Beacon! I bet that after a little bit of help, you'll be hanging with the best of 'em!" She says, her enthusiasm ever present.

Nora thought that speech would make him feel better, but was profoundly confused when he turned away. "Don't bother." He says simply.

"Wait... What?" She asked. She couldn't understand what was up. Why was he so despondent?

"... I didn't get into Beacon. I never went to any combat schools, had any formal training, or do anything to earn my place here." He explains. He takes a deep breath before continuing.

"I cheated my way into Beacon. I forged the signatures on the application, lied about my combat experience, and got into Beacon without having fought a single battle in my life." He says, getting frustrated with himself.

"... Then why did you sign up?" Nora asks, unable to organize her own thoughts.

"Because of my parents. They were veterans in the Vale military, having seen action multiple times defending the kingdom from Grimm invasions. They helped so many people, what else could I be? This is what I always wanted, to be a hero who protects those who can't do so themselves, but if I can't even help myself, what's the point of becoming a Huntsman?" He says, believing the whole venture to be hopeless.

"That's why I can't accept your help, Nora. I haven't done anything to earn it, and if I can't make it on my own, after having illegally enrolled? Then I deserve to fail." He says sadly, turning his back to her.

"Ren..."

"Nora, please. Just let me fall." He says, before correcting himself. "I don't mean 'fall' as in, like, from this rooftop, but just school." He clarifies.

Nora is silent for a moment. "Fine. Enjoy your fall." She says coldly.

Ren felt an immense guilt the moment she left. _'She shouldn't have to be dragged down by the likes of me...'_

He stood there, unsure what to do next, until he heard a voice.

"You cheated your way into Beacon? I gotta say, didn't know you had the balls for it. I kinda respect that." He whips his head around to see the owner of the voice.

It was Coco.

Ren was stricken. "Coco..." He was surprised by how he felt. He should have felt afraid, sad, or and maybe a bit disappointed, but he felt angry. He felt defiant.

"So? Are you going to turn me in? Get me kick out?" He asked flatly, ready for his punishment.

"Are you kidding? I've got dirt on you! And this kind of dirt isn't something you find often. No, I'm not gonna turn you in..." She says, checking her nails. "Nah, I think I'll blackmail you. As long as you do exactly what I say, this will be a secret between you, me, and Pinky. Headmistress Salem will never have to know about this. Deal?" She says venomously.

Ren was frozen. His mind and heart were screaming at him to throw her deal into her face. He knew that as it stood, he didn't deserve to be in Beacon, and if he followed along he would only be hurting his team. He knew that turning himself in was the right thing to do.

But he just stayed silent.

He couldn't do it.

Coco smiles. "Guess it's a deal. Now, Velvet and Yatsuhashi are going to a party here in an hour. I would have had to pass it up to work on that assignment Callows gave us, but I think you can take care of it for me, right? Right. See you tomorrow, bud!" She says, walking away.

Ren could do little more than listen to the school bully. "Damn you..." He mutters under his breath. "Damn me..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: This chapter was not easy to write! Trying to differentiate each of the personalities became an obstacle due to how many characters were present this chapter.**

 **And about the title... It was really weird, I know, but 'Jaunedice' was also a very awkward title. In real life, 'Jaundice' is a medical term for when too much yellow pigment is present in the eye, making it yellow. Since it reflected Jaune's name, and he was swapped, I needed a different medical term. I thought, "Well, having lice can be a medical problem, and that could be spelled weirdly to fit his name." So I went with that.**

 **On the other hand, I did have fun introducing the new characters. Coco was fun, and now we have the crazy Tyrian as a teacher! Who wouldn't want to have him teach history?**

 **Also, I'm switching the release order on the trailer chapters. Instead of the swapped Black trailer coming out and then the swapped Red trailer, the Red trailer will be released first. This is to reveal a character swap in a more convenient order.**

 **Now, on to reviews!**

 **Bomberguy789:**

I'm curious as to what will change once the Jaunedice Arc rolls around. Who will be bullying Ren? Maybe they will still be bullying Jaune? And how will Nora help, or even train Ren when their fighting styles are so unbelievably different? Maybe she'll get someone else to help? Who knows?

 **I hope this chapter answered most of your questions. The difference in the training will be explained in the next actual episode.**

 **DarkDevilKnight:**

Ok yeah in canon Ren an Nora look like they are starting to get close so it makes good sense for Jaune an Pyrrha would get their moment right away because it freaking is a tragic. It still not fair!

Good to know about Raven and Yang so can't wait for that to happen in the later chapters, so yeah thanks to this story and many others is getting me inspired to getting back to writing...wait...wait wait whoa wait a minute hang on just a minute a thought struck me.

This story is called SWAP, and if I'm guessing right characters swapping places...oh god...oh my god I never realize this until now! Oh god the madness! The insanity!

 **Glad to help out, man!**

 **And now, you start to realize how crazy it's going to get! In the words of Peter Quill in the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 "I'm gonna make some weird shit!"**

 **Royal2:**

Good chapter man so is yang's red eyes going to have special powers like Ruby's silver eyes had in the canon.

 **No, Yang's red eyes are just her semblance. Salem merely mentions this because she expected them to be the permanent shade of red Raven's is. Though I have one theory about Ruby's silver eyes that I think will change due to plot points on the show. I'm sorry that this is really vague, but if I say anything else I risk spoiling a major plot point!**

 **Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a good day!**

 **EDIT: I looked back, and realized that I REALLY wasn't satisfied with how Tyrian's character turned out. I changed a few things about his dialogue that hopefully made him less bland. Obviously, his character will be more pronounced come season two, where he joins Team RWBY on the scouting mission. Also fixed some typos.**


	10. Paralogue 3: Yellow

**Paralogue 3: Yellow**

It was cold.

It was the middle of winter, and the land was cloaked in a sheet of white.

And on a lonely cliff on the small island of Patch, a girl sat next to a well-kept grave, silently mourning. She wore a yellow and black dress, and had long, almost shining blonde hair. The snow didn't bother her. In fact, it all seemed to melt before it touched her.

After a moment, she rises from her position, and walks away.

The inscription on the tombstone read 'Taiyang Xiao Long.'

She walked down the familiar forest path to her home. After a minute of walking, she pulls out a pair of headphones, and puts them on. She clicks on the cassette attached to it, and she could feel the tapes inside the plastic box ravel and unravel themselves back into their original position. Their was a click, and a song began to play.

 _There's a point where it tips,_

 _There's a point where it breaks,_

 _There's a point where it bends,_

 _And a point we just can't take..._

 _Anymore..._

She continues to walk down the forest path, looking at the ground. She remained undisturbed, until a small wind tickled the hairs on her neck. She stops, and thinks for a few moments, before deciding that what lay ahead wasn't worth planning ahead for. She walks forward into the clearing she has passed through so many times before, and was not surprised in the slightest to see a small army of Beowolves waiting at the opposite end.

She watched as the front row of three break off, sprint towards her, and pounce. Their red, beady eyes staring her down the entire time. They snarled with hunger... hunger and hate.

As they pounced, they looked down upon the young woman, seeing nothing but an easy meal. With each moment they grew closer, and closer, and closer still, until they were inches apart..!

 _Swoosh!_

With what seemed to be a mere changing of the wind, the three Beowolves fell to halves on the snow-covered earth. The girl didn't seem to move except for her sword hand, which now held a katana made of yellow Dust.

She coldly looked back at the crowd of Grimm as they howled into the night sky. The rest of the pack charged at the young girl, angered at the deaths of their kin. One leaped at her, but she took one step to the left and slashed at it's midsection, slicing it in half just like the three before it. Two more pounced in succession, and she slices one vertically, along it's spine, and dodges the second by leaping into the air. As she looked down at the beast, she twisted in midair and thrust her sword into it's skull.

The crowd only grew as more Beowolves heard the cries of their pack, and joined with the intent on killing the intruder. She ran forward and stabbed one in the throat, paralyzing the beast. Another swiped at her head, to which she ducked under the swing and cut off their shins. It fell onto it's stubs, and less than a second later was without it's head.

Two attempted to outmaneuver her. One pounced at her while, in unison, a second charged at her from the ground. She jumps backwards, dodging both of the Grimm and flicking a switch on her blade. The sword splits into four plates, arranging themselves into a barrel. She takes aim and blows the heads off of both aggressors. As more of the horde charged, she continued to fire at the crowd, killing off a number of Grimm.

One flung itself towards her, savagely clawing at air. She raised her blade and sliced the Beowolf in half just as a group charged her. She charged the group and blocked a swipe to her right with her sheath. She flings the sheath into the head of the aggressor, stunning it. With two diagonal, almost casual slashes she kills two to her right while the previous was still stunned.

Another pounces towards her, and with a simple spin she knocks the one out of the air with her sheath, and cuts the head off of the previous.

Four charge at her. She flicks her sword into it's rifle form and shoots down one, but the other three close the distance. Two pounce into the air while the third charges forward. She blocks one with her sheath, and cuts down the second before it could strike, but the one that opted to stay on the ground slashes her side.

She winces, but brings her blade down on the aggressor as payback. The first of the attackers, seeing an opportunity, brings it's claw down onto her head. Undeterred, the girl swings around and rips the monster in two in a single slash.

She looks up, and sees the crowd had become an army. The twelve from before having turned into a crowd of easily forty or more. She stared them all down, and her hair began to smolder. Her eyes turned a shade of crimson, and she sheathed her sword. The Grimm army charged all at once, ready to end the hunt, once and for all.

She was all too happy to oblige.

In one great motion, she unsheathed the blade and slashed at the enemy. Great yellow flame billowed out of it's sheathe, wrapping itself around the blade and forming a sort of extension. The fire-blade easily cut apart the Grimm from fifteen feet out. With each slash and flourish, swaths of Beowolves burned to ashes. None of them got close to the golden girl, who turned the bitter winter into a sweltering summer.

With one last spin, the final Beowolves were torn asunder, and the battle was finished.

She was left standing there, regaining her breath after that encounter. She let her katana and sheath hit the ground. Her shoulders slumped over, and letting herself collapse to the ground, she looked around to admire her handiwork.

Beowolf parts had been scattered all throughout the clearing, still burning away. All the snow had melted within thirty feet of her. If one rolled over and faced the grass, one could pretend it was spring.

 _-And the innocence and peace we always knew..._

 _Click!_

She was snapped out of her weariness by the music, not having realized she didn't turn the cassette before the fight. She rises and sheathes her sword.

"Time to go home..." She whispers, as the tape whirls in her cassette once more, preparing the next song... It brought a smile to her face.

 _I don't know where we should go,_

 _Just feeling farther from our goal,_

 _I don't know what path we will be shown,_

 _But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home..._

 _Yes I know that when I'm with you I'm at home~_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: Hey, guys, I have an announcement. I know this chapter took way longer than it should have, and I'm sorry for that. I ran out of enthusiasm to write the story about two weeks ago. As such it was tough mustering the will to write this thing when I've been having so much fun getting back into video games.**

 **So until further notice, I'm going to take a break from RWBY: SWAP and enjoy other things.**

 **Now, I'm not discontinuing the story, not by a long shot. Expect new chapters to resume a few weeks from now. I just don't want to leave you all in the dark about the long delays.**

 **Now that we've gotten the announcement out of the way, time for reviews!**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

I don't know why i didn't notice this sooner. It's very awesome on introspection and swapping, i can't wait to see whath else you have in mind. I admit, i would prefer here Qrow as Ruby's dad(Yang and Ruby would make more sense as cousins here. Tough a lot of other situation make more sense, Coco seems more reasonable than Cardin), and fights need to improving, but there is time for this one. I can't wait to see next chapters, i hope Jaune will upgrade his equipment with at least a firearm. Keep up the good work and see you soon, also good i hope Ghira and Kali will be decent faunus beings, i hate bashing.

 **Yeah, I know my fight scenes need a LOT of improvement, though I hope that this chapter was a step up. However, on your topics of Jaune and Qrow as the father, I already have everything planned out. I have a very good reason why Qrow isn't her father, and I have several scenes planned out for this. Thank you for the constructive criticism!**

 **Bomberguy789:**

Well, this Lie Ren is incredibly different to both his canon self, and the character is is sort-of-but-not-really swapped with. It's definitely interesting to see that it isn't only the character traits that have been swapped, but the situations as well. Provided the characters remain consistent in their swaps, then it will all be good.

And I wonder, who actually has racially abused the new Velvet and Blake? It would be interesting to see if Cardin WAS still a racist, but was still different in various other ways.

And finally, Tyrian. So far I've only seen the opposite of Oobleck, but whenever he appears next I'll be interested in seeing what's changed and what hasn't. Good luck!

 **Yeah, it's important to note that characters wont just be copy-paste personalities from the show. They will have some of their old quirks and some may even have traits that weren't even present with the original character. I think this makes things more interesting.  
**

 **For Velvet and Blake, it's simply implied. Being a faunus in this universe means being a huge target. The moment you leave a pro-faunus town or city, you will be exposed to it. I think simply being in Vale or Beacon is enough time to be a target from this. No one we know (or, you know, a named character) have bullied Blake or Velvet because of this, but we don't need to see it to believe it, in this case.**

 **On Tyrian, I was very disappointed with how he turned out, so I went back and changed a few lines to solidify his character and show off a few quirks better. On the other hand, he'll really get his time to shine come season 2.**

 **Royal2**

Ok good chapter man but I fell bad for Nora for when you know what happens.

 **What? I have no idea what you're talking about. Nothing bad ever happens.**

 **Ever.**

 **...**

 **...**

 **...**

 **;-;**


	11. Chapter 8: Forever Fall

**Chapter 8: Forever Fall**

It was late at night in Beacon Academy. All of the day's classes were long over, and most students were preparing for bed. This held true for Team JNPR... or three of them, at least.

Pyrha was doing stretches next to her bed, still revving with energy. Arc was polishing his sword on his bed, finding it to be a relaxing activity and has become a bit of a ritual for him. Nora, meanwhile, was looking outside her window worriedly. Ever since her... 'disagreement' with Ren, only negative emotions have been circling through her head.

Pyrrha spoke up about it before she could, though. "Where has Ren been? He's been coming back late."

Arc looks up from his sword. "He's been hanging out with Coco's team. Haven't seen him around much."

"But we have a field trip tomorrow. Wouldn't he want to report in with his team? I mean, he can spend his time however he wants, but still..."

"Oh, forget him! If he wants to hang out with a bunch of jerks, let him! He's got everything under control." Nora says aggressively, still looking out the window.

Arc and Pyrrha pause what they're doing, taken aback by the sudden outburst. They look at each other, silently agreeing to stay silent and, optimally, go to sleep within the next few minutes.

 _'I should just turn him in. He DID lie about how good he was. He deserves it! One word and Sustrai will throw him right out!'_ Nora thinks, fuming. But in the end, she never did tell Emerald.

Little did they know, however, LRen was outside the door. He listened in on their conversation, and sighed wearily. He clicks the door shut, not having the courage to see them, still hating himself for not standing up to Coco.

"Hey, Ren." A voice said quietly behind him. He turned behind him to see the leader of Team RWBY, Yang Xiao Long, addressing him.

"Oh, greetings, Yang." He says half-heartedly. He felt like he didn't deserve to talk to his friends now. _'I shouldn't have met them in the first place...'_

Yang gives him a coy smile. "Did you lock yourself out again?"

"No, no. I have my scroll right here." He says, holding it up. "Is my memory so poor? You always seem to feel the need to remind me of that particular incident." He says, cracking a small smile.

"You kidding? You'd forget which shoe goes on which foot if it wasn't for me." She says jokingly.

"Not true! For your information, I labelled my shoes just in case I get a concussion and can't remember which shoe goes on which foot." He says, looking slightly proud of himself.

"Man, master strategist over here." Yang says with a lopsided grin.

After a moment of silence, Yang asked gently, "So... where have you been lately? Haven't seen you around."

Ren saw the innocent look in Yang's eyes, and had to look away. He couldn't bear the guilt. _'She wouldn't care. She'd probably accept my forging the transcripts instantly, and she wouldn't look down on me for that. She most likely had to take the most rigorous and painful exams in the world to have qualified here, and I got in with a swipe of the pen.'_

"Ren?" He looked back at Yang, who now wore a worried expression. Before she could ask anything else, Ren answered.

"I made a mistake. I've made a horrible, horrible mistake." He says, sitting on the floor. For a moment he contemplated whether or not to tell her, but after a moment, he swallowed his inhibitions.

"I cheated my way here, Yang."

"Oh, don't say that! You-" She starts.

"No, really. I forged my transcripts to get into Beacon, and got in without taking a single year of combat school. I don't deserve to be here." He says quickly, leaving no room for argument.

"... Oh." She says after a moment, not sure what to say. "... Does anyone else know?"

"Nora does. And... so does Coco." He admits.

Yang becomes confused at this. "Wait, why Coco?" She asks, while leaning on the wall.

"She overheard me and Nora talking about it, and she's been blackmailing me into doing her work, or else she will inform one of the teachers." Anger and doubt washes over him for a moment. "I hate being so powerless! I should just leave now, while I still have some dignity..."

"No!"

The loud and unexpected response startled the young student. "... No?"

"No." Yang repeats. "You faked your way into Beacon, so you're going to do everything you can to stay here and get good enough to call yourself a real Huntsman-in-training. Headmistress Salem made you a leader for a reason. You have potential." Yang says sincerely. A confident smile grew on her face. "You've got a team with you, Ren. I know you won't let 'em down."

Lie thinks over those words for a few moments before rising from the ground. "Alright, I'll do my best."

"I know you will. 'Night, Ren." She says, waving, as she returned to her dorm.

"Goodnight, Yang." After Yang entered her room, he turned for his own, but a buzzing from his scroll stopped him. He opens it to see a message from Coco.

"Hey, buddy! You know, I'd _hate_ to interrupt you when you're probably working on that Dust project Callows gave us, but when you get the chance, I need you to be a dear, and get some Rapier Wasps." She says casually.

"The hell?!" He almost yells, completely flabbergasted by the request.

"Bring them in by tomorrow morning. Oh, and if the paper you wrote gets a ninety or higher, I'll think about letting up on the favors for a bit. Au revoir!" The message ends.

Ren sighs, and thinks on his options. _'I need to end this. But how..?'_ He pinches the bridge of his nose. _'For now, I'll just give in to her demands, and think of a solution in the meantime. Until then, time to get some Rapier Wasps...'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was field trip day for the students of Beacon, and specific teams were assigned to different teachers as they made their way through the Forest of Forever Fall. Teams RWBY, JNPR, and CVFY were all assigned under Emerald Sustrai. They each gawked at the sea of lush, beautiful crimson trees that surrounded them.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You guys must be thinking that the forest 'is, like, so pretty! I wanna take a TON of pictures to show to everyone!' But _please_ don't take more than, like, two. I don't want to hang around here any longer than necessary. While the place is beautiful, there's a ton of Grimm running around, so stick together and recover the sap as needed." Emerald warns, already bored.

The group was following behind her, and after a few more minutes of walking, the groups came to a stop. From far behind the group, panting could be heard as Ren tried to catch up with them. He eventually reached them... but couldn't see where he was going, since he was carrying all of Team CVFY's jars and equipment.

He bumped into Coco, who glared at her unwilling butler. "Watch it!" She whispered furiously.

"Pardon!" He said quickly, almost losing balance of his precariously stacked equipment.

"Listen up! This is where I have to be formal and stuff." Emerald calls out, breaking up the two's interaction. "Your objective today is to gather tree sap deeper in the forest. Once your scrolls indicate the minimum distance, you must gather one full jar of tree sap for each of you. Once each of you have a full jar, you must return to Beacon and present your jars to Headmistress Salem. All of the equipment needed to complete today's mission you have already brought with you."

She rolls her eyes. "I'm supposed to say that you should all stick together for this, but really? I don't care either way. If you get stuck out there on your own, then you'll learn your lesson a lot quicker, anyways. Just like with any other mission, prioritize your team's survival first, the objective second, and picking fights with Grimm last. Prioritize screwing over your team second to last. Everyone understand?" She yells.

As a matter of fact, no. Everybody was stuck on her 'priorities' list. "Excuse me, Ms.-" Ren starts.

"Good! Get a move on!" She yells, either having not heard Ren or simply opting to ignore him.

After a moment of hesitation, everyone went off to the depths of the forest. "Come on, buddy! You got sap to collect." Coco said, looking forward to her 'day off'. Her team seemed to wish to split off from the group.

Ren looked back at his team sadly, wishing he could go with them. After a moment he noticed something that struck with both guilt and hope.

Nora was looking back at him.

They gazed sadly at each other for a moment, before Ren left with CVFY.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Team CVFY were currently relaxing in a comfortable spot in the forest, waiting for Ren to bring all of their jars of sap. He arrived before the team, holding six jars of sap as requested. He let the jars fall to the ground... before promptly collapsing.

"Uhhhh... I think I'm allergic to the sap, so I might not be able-" Ren starts, using his best nasal voice.

"Nice try, bud. Anyways! Thanks for getting the sap for us, Lei-Rei. We really appreciate the help." She said, passing out the jars.

Ren sighs, and rises from the ground. "Listen, Coco... I really don't want this to continue. Please, just let me go." He pleads, hoping to reason with the bully.

"And why, exactly, should I give up a perfectly good slave?" Coco asks, lowering her glasses to look at the student directly.

" _Please_ Coco. I'll do anything to walk away from this. You can ask anything, just so long as it's the last demand." He begs. This _needed_ to end now.

"Look, I'm not going to let you go just yet. You've been working for three days! You can-" She was cut off as Velvet Scarlatina grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside.

"I-Wha- Velvet, what do you want?" Coco asks angrily, not appreciating being pulled out of her conversation.

Velvet seemed to whisper something. "... Really? Think it's worth it?" Velvet whispers to her again. "... True. It would be a lot easier..." Coco considers her idea, and after a few moments later smiles.

"Alright, I can dig it. Hey, Ren!" She yells over to the youth, who looked back at the woman.

"You said you'd do anything to get out of this whole blackmail arrangement, right? Well let's go, we've got a chore for you to do." She said, waving for him to follow.

"Uhhh..." Instead of being reassured, he seemed to sense the ominous air. Before he could do anything, Fox and Yatsuhashi grabbed him by each shoulder and dragged him to their intended destination.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

They reached a clearing, and sounds of talking could be heard nearby. As they gathered in the clearing, Fox and Yatsuhashi released Ren. Coco was holding the spare jar of sap Ren had harvested, and was peeking over a small lip in the landscape with Velvet, which overlook another part of the forest.

Coco motioned for the others to join her. They joined her position, and Coco looked at Ren smugly. "So, Ren, you might be wondering why we made you get six jars of sap, instead of five." She says rhetorically.

"I just thought you were making me do more work." He says honestly.

"Well, that's always a plus, but there's a bit more to it than that." She looks over the lip again. Ren joins her, looking over to see Teams RWBY and JNPR, all gathering sap. But more specifically, he sees...

"Nora?" He asks out loud, growing more worried by the second. He looks over to Coco, who's face displayed contempt.

"That show off has been making us all look bad! She thinks that just because she's won a few tournaments that she's SO much better than us." She then grows a dark smile. "Well... let's see how well she fights _these_." She presents the box of Rapier Wasps Ren collected the night before.

All of the dots connected in Lie's head, and was horrified at the realization. "You can't... You're not going to..!"

"Yep! We throw the extra sap at the other sad sap over there, let go of the wasps, and hang back and laugh. And _you're_ going to be the one to throw it." She said in anticipation, shoving the jar into Ren's grasp.

"WHAT?! You can't be serious! I refuse!" He yells, letting go of the jar.

She glares at him. "You can't. You're also going to stick around and admit that it was _your_ idea to do all of this, and that we were never here. We would have done it ourselves, but they would find us out if we did that. I thought that box of Rapier Wasps you got was going to go to waste, but Velvet's quick thinking put everything back into action!" She stops him before he can say anything else.

"Do this, and your off the hook."

Ren was silent for a moment. "... What?"

"I said, if you do this for us, you wont have to worry about us ever again. Sounds great, right?" She said with a condescending smile. She picks the jar up again, and hands it to Ren. "Now do it."

He takes the jar reluctantly, and starts walking over to the lip of the clearing, where he could see Nora. A little voice was whispering sweet nothings into his ear.

 _'Just throw it... You'll never have to worry about her again... Nora already hates you, you've got nothing to lose!'_

He unscrewed the cap on the jar. It felt like lead in his hands as he was preparing to throw it. He could barely raise it above his head. He looked at his target, trying to line up his shot.

He looked upon the young orange-haired woman, who had no idea of his intentions. She continued to collect sap for her team, her troubles from earlier having been lifted somewhat.

She seemed so innocent, as if nothing was wrong. She didn't even seem capable of hating anyone. She just seemed so... happy with herself.

Gods, was that..? It was. She had tree sap covering her face. She got so hungry she must have eaten the jars of tree sap. Her gratification was obvious.

A different voice replaced the old. _'You know what to do.'_

The jar lost it's weight.

His arm fell to his side.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Throw it already!" Coco said, annoyed.

Ren's grip on the jar tightened. He looked at the box of Rapier Wasps a few meters to his right.

He knew what to do, alright.

"As you WISH!" He swings the jar of sap forward, spilling it's contents on the whole of Team CVFY, but mostly Coco. She was stunned for a moment, but fury quickly followed.

"You BASTARD!" She screamed. Before she could display how absolute pissed off she was, Ren began to run for the box of Rapier Wasps, intent on turning the tables.

She realized his plan, and her eyes widened in horror. "NO!"

Ren was so close to the box... 3 meters... 2 meters... a meter!

Suddenly he felt a wire wrap around his ankle, and he fell face-first into the dirt. He looked up from the ground, and reached out for the buzzing box of Grimm. His fingertips were scraping the sides of the box, but he couldn't grasp it! He was dragged away from the box, and he twisted his form to look at the culprit.

He saw a wire made of solid light coming from a hard light hilt. Velvet managed to create a copy of Blake's weapon, and was dragging him back to the four.

"Damnitdamnitdamnit!" Ren was clawing at the ground, trying to get away from certain doom. He heard heavy footsteps approach, and looks towards the noise. He only has a moment to take this in before Yatsuhashi foot obscures his vision, and everything goes black.

He blacked out for a moment, but only for a moment. He came to only a few seconds after Yatsuhashi's kick. Ren could feel Yatsuhashi dragging him over to Coco, and he felt when they came to a stop. Opening his eyes he could see Coco's jelly smothered, overly eye-shadowed, and royal pissed expression. With a quick and simple movement, Coco swung her handbag into the side of Ren's head with enough force to knock him out of his grip, and he hit the grass once more.

Coco walked over and grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, picking him off the ground again. "You're going to regret ever coming here." She said in a low growl.

"Already am." He deadpans, not really resisting.

"You think this is funny?! When I'm done with you, we'll just get another jar, throw it at her, and blame it on you anyway. We'll say that you threw it, and that we beat you up for trying to run away! And after that's all over, we'll turn you in to Sustrai for forging your application. But your not the only one getting expelled- nonononono! We'll turn your girlfriend over there in for withholding the knowledge of your illegal entry from the teachers! So we'll get BOTH of you expelled! How does that sound?! Huh?!"

After a moment, Ren chuckles, and gives a goofy, almost smug smile.

Coco's eyes widen with fury. "WHAT THE HELL IS SO FUNNY?!"

Shaking his head, he comes to a realization. "It's hilarious... Now, when me and my friends are about to lose everything, now is the point I realize just how pathetic you are... It makes me wonder... Why was I afraid of you in the first place?" He keeps on smiling, facing his eventual fate with the dignity he once yearned for.

Every moment, Coco became more irate. She dropped the boy, and rose her handbag to wipe the smug smile off his face.

 _CRASH!_

 _GRAAAAAAAAAAA!_

They all freeze for but a moment, before swinging their gazes at the source of the noise. An Ursa crashed in through the trees, no doubt attracted to the huge influx of negative emotions. Nearly it's whole body was covered with armor, with spikes nearly 4 feet long protruding from it's back. It could only be...

"Major, run!" Velvet screams, before doing good on her word, with Fox and Yatsu following. Coco tries to take her advice, but the Elder Ursa chases her down, and knocked her to the side before she could even leave the clearing. It focused it's sights on no one else, for she was the largest source of negativity around... Well, that and it liked the smell of the sap on her.

Now on the ground, Coco begins to unravel her handbag into it's signature mini-gun. Before the transformation was complete, however, the Ursa knocked it out of her hands. She was left defenseless.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Back at Teams RWBY and JNPRs' sight, everything was peaceful...

 _CRASH!_

 _GRAAAAAAAAAAA!_

Everyone stood up instantly. "What was that?!" Ruby asked quickly, loading her gauntlets.

"Sounds like an Ursa. That way." Arc said quickly, accurately pointing off towards it's direction.

Suddenly, Velvet, Fox, and Yatsuhashi burst out of the foliage, running from the source of the noise. Before they could all get away, Ruby grabbed the back of Velvet's collar. "What happened?!"

"Ursa! It's a Major! Coco's in trouble!" She explains quickly, before wresting herself from Ruby's grasp and continuing to run.

"Wait... Ren!" Nora realizes, running off towards the Ursa.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The Ursa Major was advancing on Coco, who was trying to shuffle away. It was nearly on her, and her fear was etched into her face. "N-No..!"

As it was about to pounce, a hundred bullets zap into it's armored hide. "Look! Over here!"

It swung it's head around to see the aggressor, and saw Ren, pistols drawn, ready to defend a fellow student.

The Grimm gave the challenger it's full attention, turning away from Coco and charging him. He quickly dove to the side just in time, as the force of it's charge broke down the row of trees it collided with.

Ren gets up on his knee and continues to fire at the beast, his bullets having little effect. It pounced at him, but again ran to the side. "I can't fight this thing head-on..." He mutters.

Coco was still sitting on the forest floor. "He's going to get himself killed..." She whispers. She takes out her scroll and checks Ren's Aura. _'It has to be almost shattered... We beat the snot out of him! It's impossible-'_

Ren's Aura read 100%.

"What? But how..." Then the realization hit her. _'He never activated his Aura. That entire time he could have protected himself, but he just took the punishment, and now he's fighting a Ursa Major... What is he made of..?'_

Nora, Yang, and Blake reach the clearing, and see the confrontation. "Is he fighting that thing alone?!" Yang asks rhetorically. "Let's go." Blake says quickly, drawing her blade.

"Wait!" Nora yells, stopping the two other girls. "Why? If we don't help-" Yang starts.

"Then Ren might get hurt. We get hurt all the time, so it's cool. He has to do this himself, he has to _prove_ this to himself." Nora reasons, opting to wait until Ren truly needed the help before getting involved.

Ren continued to dodge the hulking Grimm, firing at it the entire time. With every swing, he managed to get out of it's range. He never let go of the trigger.

It swung fairly high, and Ren managed to duck and jump back. He aimed at the monster...

 _Click!_

"What?!" He yelled. He was out of bullets. That brief moment of surprise was enough for the Ursa to smash him aside, sending him a few feet into the air and narrowly missing a tree on the way down. "Urgh..."

Yang looked at Nora. "He got hit, let's-"

"He's still at 57%. He can still win." Nora said, determined to give him the chance he wanted to prove himself. Yang wanted to argue, but Nora wasn't going to give an inch.

Ren rises from the ground, and waits for the Ursa's next move. This time, it crept up slowly, one step at a time. He took a few steps back, unsure of how to deal with the monster's change in tactics. In a panic, he charged it, aiming to slash at it's uncovered belly.

The monster swivels around, swinging the spikes on it's back towards him, and before he could stop himself the spikes whacked and sliced at his side, knocking him back a few feet.

With the successful counter, it attempted to pounce on the student. He managed to roll out of the way just in time, landing two slashes on the Ursa's arm. The monster roared in pain, and back-handed Ren for his troubles. The force of the hit knocked him flat against the side of the tree, sending shooting pains throughout his back.

Nora frantically checks the her scroll. She was horrified to read the 11% on the screen. She looked up and saw the Ursa charging at Ren.

It was running away from them. They wouldn't be able to stop it in time.

"REN!" Nora screams, drawing her hammer and running towards him. Yang and Blake follow suit.

Ren looks at the massive beast, and for some odd reason, the anxiousness he had felt throughout the fight vanished. He no longer felt anger, fear, or doubt. Everything seemed to slow down that tiniest bit. He got up, and ran at the beast so far beyond his abilities.

The Ursa rose it's left claw into the air, seemingly ready to strike vertically. Ren looked at it's other claw, which was subtly stretching to the right.

He realized it was attempting to feint with it's left paw.

He ignored it's right claw, which remained in the air as it slashed with it's right. He ducks under it, and was now crouching on the ground right below was inches from it's body. As tenses his body and places his knife-guns close to his chest, he put all of his energy into one last slash.

"YAAAAAAAAAAH!"

With a scream, he launches himself off the ground, slicing the space right above him in an x-pattern. He felt the shadowy flesh above him tear, and watched as the head of the mighty beast was separated from it's body.

He watched both head and body land to the ground with a resounding thud. As he recovered from the force of his attack, he realized he had triumphed.

Nora, Yang, and Blake all stopped in their tracks as they marveled at Ren's deed.

Nora wasn't stopped for too long, though.

"Ren!" He turned around to see the person addressing him, only to suffer a flying tackle of a hug that nearly knocked him over.

"You did it! You beat one of those things! All by yourself! I'm so proud of you!" She said ecstatically.

"Nora?! When did you..?"

He was cut off as Yang and Blake made their way over to him.

"Nice one, Ren! You kicked it's butt!" Yang exclaimed.

"Wow. You actually won. Didn't think you would do it." Blake said, annoyed she had to say something nice to him.

"T-Thanks..." He says bashfully. As he was about to ask them something, he remembered why he fought the Ursa in the first place. He turns to see a star struck Coco, sitting against a tree. He walks over, and offers a hand.

After a few moments of apprehension, she accepts, and as she stands up, she looks Ren in the eyes, but has to look away. For the first time in a while, she felt guilt.

"... Why?" She asked simply. "If you had just left me, you wouldn't have to worry about me turning you in. You could have gotten back at me. Why?"

He shakes his head. "I'm not a murderer. We're both still Huntsmen-in-training, it's our job to support and protect each other. If I had left you, then I would have proven myself just as underhanded as you." He closes his eyes for a moment, before opening them again.

"I don't care what you do to me, but you aren't _ever_ going to threaten my friends again, understood?" He asks, an edge in his voice.

She looks at her savior. The beaten, bloody, black and blue student whom she had treated as a slave for the past few days. The one that, despite everything she had done, still was more willing to fight for her than her own team.

"... Don't worry, I wont bother you again. Your... Your secret's safe with me." She says sincerely.

"And my friends?" He says again.

"I won't bother anyone anymore. I promise."

With that, he let's go of her hand.

"Coco. If you continue these actions, with the blackmail, bullying, or otherwise, you will wind up in this exact situation again, and other people may not be around to help. Or... they may not have the kindness." He turns and leaves, the others going with him.

Coco stands there in the clearing, thinking. She looks around and sees the four jars of sap that were meant for her team.

"My team..."

She looks at the corpse of the Ursa.

 _'If I don't change... this will be where I'll end up...'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was 6:57 P.M. in Vale, and Ren was on the school rooftop. He was thinking back on everything that had happened this week, and whether or not he deserved to be here.

 _'It's as Yang said.'_ He reminded himself. _'Whether I deserve to be here or not is irrelevant. I'm here now, and I have to do everything possible to stay here. I have to train, I have to study, and I have to be the best leader possible for my team. That all truly starts tomorrow.'_

He heard the door behind him open. He turned to see Nora join him. She gave him a stern look, but one that showed forgiveness. "You feeling any better?" She asks, still unsure about his treatment.

"Yes. Arc's Semblance healed me at an astonishing rate! I must thank him again later." He says with a smile, almost all of his injuries were completely healed at this point.

"I still want to know why everything that has been going on this week... went on." She says awkwardly.

He hesitates. "... Coco heard us when I told you of my transcripts. She had been blackmailing me for the past few days, making me do most of her chores." He explains.

"So that's why you've been so distant..." She realizes, the pieces finally coming together. "Need me to break some legs?"

"No, no. She will keep her promise to us." He says confidently.

"You really think Coco is gonna keep it? She's probably gonna just tell Salem, anyways." She says, raising an eyebrow.

He sighs. "Perhaps, but if that's truly what's going to happen I can't say I don't deserve it." He pauses. "Nora, I'm so sorry. You just wanted to help me, and I pushed you away for no good reason. Can you-"

"Ren, stop." Nora interrupts. "It's cool. You learned your lesson, right? Then we can just move on, and forget about it! Now let's go, Arc made waffles! They're so good!" She starts walking towards the door.

Ren gets an idea. "Wait, Nora..." Nora turned to him. "I know I have no right to ask this, but... will you train me? I know I need to get better, and I'll accept all the help I can get."

Nora seems to ponder this for a moment. She smiles, and walks over to the door, poking her head into the frame. "ARC! KEEP THE WAFFLES WARM! WE'll BE DOWN IN A BIT!"

She turns to Ren. "Get our weapons, Lie Ren. You're gonna learn how to fight..." She flexes her muscles. "The Valkyrie Way!"

Ren smiles. _'I guess it all truly starts tonight.'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: I'M BACK BABY!**

 **And thus the two week hiatus is over! You guys will be getting a more regular a chapter-a-week schedule. On the actual chapter itself... dang. This is the longest chapter I think I've ever wrote, and I couldn't be happier about how it turned out! My only regret is making the Ursa scene so short, and even then I'm still fairly happy about it's conclusion.**

 **Also, I recently went back and edited some of Blake and Hazels' dialogue in chapter 6. Made Blake WAY less melodramatic, and also gave some hints towards Hazel's past.**

 **And next chapter! I'm excited for the next chapter! I'm gonna be introducing** _ **so**_ **many new swaps, you guys better be ready!**

 **Now, on to reviews:**

 **DarkDevilKnight:** I would have to agree with merendinomiliano about the part of Qrow but like you said you have a very good reason of why and unfortunately it would have to wait upon more chapters to come...I'm still having certain thoughts related to the canon of the show itself. Which I don't wanna say cause I don't want to SPOIL IT! I hate it sometimes when I am right on some things.

So this was the Yellow chapter for Yang now we just need the White for Weiss and we are all set of how these girls start off. Yay!

 **All will be revealed... In the next volume. I know, it sucks. I really want to write about it, too.**

 **And yes! Only Weiss's trailer is next, which will also reveal another swap. You know which one. Though, it will be revealed next chapter, anyways.**

 **Royal2:**

We all know what happens but good chapter man. Go Yang.

 **Thanks! Go Yang!**

 **Bomberguy789:**

Well, that's definitely an interesting take on the Red trailer. Good work!

 **Thanks! I really love to incorporate RWBY's fantastic soundtrack into the chapters, so I hope you guys appreciate it.**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Very cool fight, i can't wait to see next chapters. By the way, here Crescent Rose is still a shyte or gauntlets?In the second chapter you said scythe, but in the trailer Ruby used gauntlets. Or she has both?

 **She only has her gauntlets, which are called Burning Rose. In chapter 2, Yang refers to the scythe as a drawing they made as kids, since Ruby was really into designing weapons, just like Yang is currently. It was also a nod to the show, as a 'leaning on the fourth wall' kind of joke.**

Good work, aniway. By the way, Sunday was my birthday, i consider the new chapter your gift.

 **... I don't have to buy you that Xbox One, then? Lol, jk.**

 **Happy late (like, extraordinarily, embarrassingly late) birthday! Sorry that I didn't respond sooner over private message.**

 **Thank you guys so much for being such considerate fans of the fic, it really means a lot!**

 **See you all next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 9: The Outcast

**Chapter 9: The Outcast**

The air in Vale was charged with excitement. Signs reading "Welcome to Vale!" were plastered everywhere. Students from all of the Huntsmen academies were arriving on ship for the much anticipated Vytal Festival. Five ships, all carrying students, were already docked at Vale Port, and a sixth was rolling into port.

At Blake's suggestion, Team RWBY were walking towards the aforementioned port, where the students were arriving. Blake seemed extremely happy with herself.

"The Vytal Festival! A time where people can forget labels and celebrate peace for once." Blake said, taking in the festive air. The other three were profoundly disturbed by the concept of a carefree Blake. "The planning, the decorations... It's all so beautiful!"

For Ruby, she was more annoyed than anything. "Why do we have to get up at 7:00 just to go to the stupid docks? It smells like fish..." She groans, not a morning person.

"Of course it smells like fish, it's a dock. I also don't see your problem with fish, it's a perfect delicacy no matter how it's prepared! There's fish fillet..."

"Boring."

"Sushi..."

"Gross."

"Fried..."

"Greasy."

" _You're_ going to complain about greasy foods? You go and buy fast food almost everyday after classes." Blake points out, deciding to refute her other points later.

"But Jimmy & Colsons are actually GOOD! Way better than some smelly fish!" Ruby complains, pinching her nose.

"Excuse you?" Blake says, turning around and throwing Ruby a glare. Before the argument could escalate any further, Yang steps between both of them.

"Guys, stop. It's way too early in the morning for this. Blake, what are we doing here, again?" Yang says, exhausted. The previous night hadn't been easy on her, what with Ruby's snoring (which Ruby actively denies.)

Blake crosses her arms and shoots another glare at Ruby before answering Yang. "We're here to greet the arriving students to Vale. Since we're also students it's our job to welcome them to Beacon and establish a good first impression." Blake says in a rehearsed voice.

"... So you're going to spy on them so you can gain an advantage during the Vytal Tournament. Nice." Weiss says, walking while reading her book.

"They aren't mutually exclusive, thank you very much." Blake says indignantly, trying to justify herself.

They rounded the corner and reached their destination. Smiling, Blake puts on a pleasant demeanor to greet the new students with.

Blake looks towards the rest of her team. "Alright, we must be immaculately polite and considerate to the arriving students. They may not know the local culture, so try to assist them in any- Yang, are you listening?" She snaps.

Yang was looking down the street, with far-away look in her eyes. "Guys..?" She points down the street. The others stand next to her, and are shocked to see a building surrounded by yellow tape. It's windows were busted, and the glass was strewn throughout the street. Two police officers inspecting the scene. One had a clipboard, and was taking note of the damages.

They walk over to the crime scene, worried looks on their faces. "What happened?" Yang asks.

"Dust robbery." One of the officers answers. "Second one this week, too." His partner walks up to him.

"They left the money this time, too." The second on states, confused.

"None of it makes any sense." The first says, shaking his head and forgetting about the four girls he had just answered. "What could anyone need with that much Dust?" He takes a moment to think. "You thinkin' White Fang been up to all this?"

"I'm thinkin' we don't get paid enough for this." His witty partner complains, neither of them looking forward on doing an investigation on them.

The mere mention of the White Fang causes Blake to scowl. "White Fang... What a disgusting band of hypocritical killers." Weiss tenses slightly.

"What's your problem?" Weiss asks, getting defensive. She mentally hit herself for letting her voice crack slightly.

"Problem? Me, my family, and so many other people have been hurt or killed because of those criminal maniacs. They all deserve to be locked up, so they wont be able to hurt anyone else." Blake says zealously. She harbored a deeper hatred than even her venomous words could convey.

Weiss's eye twitches slightly. "They're not insane, they just don't have believe in the current system. They deserve a chance to change." She reasons, hoping to change the cat faunus's mind.

"They deserve nothing less than the law. Even if they were a decent organization once, they don't deserve any pity for the crimes they've resorted to!" Blake argues, her eyes turning into slits.

Weiss flinches slightly. "Anyways, it doesn't make sense that they would rob a Dust store. It couldn't be them." She argues.

"She's right." Yang says, coming into the conversation. "I wasn't able to catch that one Junior guy, and the police never found him. He was robbing a Dust store when I met him, so he's probably the one behind this one." She reasons.

"That still doesn't excuse the White Fang for their crimes. No criminal should be excused for any crime they've made, even for something as small as petty theft." Blake says, crossing her arms.

"Someone, stop that faunus!" A yell broke Team RWBY out of their argument, and all four of them look at the commotion taking place on the docks. They reach the railings and see a chase going down on one of the ships. From a distance, they could faintly make out a red haired youth in a sharp black suit. His faunus heritage was obvious, what with the black horns protruding from his head.

"I wish I had the money to pay you!" He yells quickly, before jumping off the side of the boat and landing on the docks below.

"You no-good stow-away!" The sailor yells, unable to catch the much faster faunus.

"I said I was sorry!" He yells back, running up the stairs to reach the street. He was stopped by the two detectives from before.

"Hold it right there, kid. We're taking you down to the station to sort this all out. So just come with us, don't do anything drast-" He was cut off as the bull faunus ducked his head and shoved the two adults away with surprising strength. He continued his mad dash down the street, gaining some distance with the two law officials.

"Get back here! You're in violation of the law!" One yells, the two giving chase to the faunus.

The faunus ran past Team RWBY, but in the split second he was running past them, he saw Weiss. For a moment, time froze as the two young adults looked at each other for a brief moment. Shocked filled their expressions when they realized something.

They recognized each other.

The moment passed, and he continued to run down the street. Ruby looks over at Blake. "Well, there's the student you've been waiting for." She says matter-of-factly.

Blake panics. "Quick! We must apprehend him!" She yells before running after them.

"You're still just worried about the tournament, aren't you?!" Ruby yells, looking annoyed.

"Not mutually exclusive!" Blake repeats, not stopping her chase to point this out. Yang and Ruby join the chase. The whole event was starting to look like some sort of conga line.

"It can't be... was that..?" Weiss whispers. After a moment, she runs after them.

The chase continued down the block, and from where Blake ran she could see the stow-away run around a corner, the two detectives following. She continued to run, and rounded the same corner they did, though she experienced some... complications the first three did not.

As she rounded the corner, she ran into what felt like a solid steel wall. She and the object fell over, Blake's momentum being stronger than the obstruction. She pushed herself up, and watched as the stow-away escape the police, and thus the team.

"Drats!" She mutters, not noticing her team had just caught up with her.

"Um... Blake?" Yang says, getting her attention. Blake looks up at her partner, who was pointing at the ground next to her. She looked down...

To see she was on top of a person.

In a panic, she leaps to her feet and creates some distance with the unfortunate bystander. After the moment of panic passes, she gets a better look at the person she toppled. Two furry ears stuck up from the top of his head, indicating that he was a fox faunus. He wore a red coat and wore white, baggy pants. He had dark brown hair braided into a short knot, and didn't seem to mind the fact that he was lying on the ground one bit.

"Greetings!" He says with a grin and a small wave, seemingly delighted at meeting these total strangers.

"Uhh... hi." Yang says hesitantly, somewhat put off by the new individual.

"Are you hurt or something?" Ruby asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I've sustained no damage, but thank you for the concern!" He says happily, still laying on the sidewalk.

"Brother, I believe they're concerned for you because of your position." Another voice says. Everyone jumps back slightly, having only just noticed the second figure standing next to who was presumably his brother. He had seemed invisible before speaking up. Was he there the whole time, or did he just walk here? And either way, how had they not noticed him?

The second brother seemed to have very similar characteristics, although he seemed to be significantly taller, and his voice was deeper. He wore identical clothing to his brother. Furthermore, instead of having the fox ears of his brother, he wore a bushy tail.

"Oh, you are most likely correct." The younger brother realizes, and rises to his feet.

The older brother turns to the team. "Allow us to introduce ourselves. My name is Corsaic..." He starts.

"And my name is Fennec. It's great to meet you all!" The younger brother finishes, holding out his hand.

"My name is Yang..." She greets, reluctantly shaking his hand. "Ummm... What's so great about meeting us, exactly?"

"What isn't great about meeting you? It's incredible meeting new people, wouldn't you agree? You learn something different from each person you talk to!" He says enthusiastically, still grinning brightly.

"That's a nice way to think about it, I guess." Yang says, starting to warm up to the strange fellow she just met.

"Yes, well, I'm sorry for running into you, but we must be going." Blake interjects, starting to leave. The rest of the group follows suit.

"See you later, friend!" Yang calls back, waving to the brothers.

"That was a pleasant encounter. Come brother, we must report to uncle." Corsaic says, beginning to walk away. Fennec, meanwhile, was unmoving.

"Friend..?"

"Now then I was thinking... Hm? Fennec?" Corsaic asks, looking around for his brother. "Hmmm... He's seems to have disappeared... I have an idea to where he could have gone, though." He says to himself, having already had to track down his brother multiple times.

Team RWBY walks down the street, making their way back to the docks. "Well that was... weird." Ruby says bluntly.

"They definitely seemed out of it. It was like they weren't even actually 'there'." Blake says, shaking her head.

They continued walking... until Fennec appears in front of them, out of nowhere, scaring each and every one of them.

"I'm sorry, what did you call me, before?" He asks carefully, causing Ruby to feel guilty.

Blake, meanwhile, was looking behind and in front of them, back and forth, trying to figure out how he had gotten in front of them.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean anything when I said that! I was just-" Ruby says quickly, only to get cut off by Fennec.

"No no, that's quite alright. I was asking Yang." He walks up to Yang. "You called me 'friend' just a moment ago, right? Do you consider me a friend?" He asks nervously, Yang finding it slightly difficult to respond.

She looks behind his shoulder to see the rest of the team doing silent 'no' gestures. After a moment, she makes up her mind. "Yeah, of course." She says genuinely.

The rest of the team freeze, and slump to the ground, having been completely taken aback by the answer. Fennec, however, couldn't be happier.

"Excelsior! Then can hang out at the arcades, or we could get some food, or we co-" He starts saying rapidly, extremely excited to have made his first friend.

"Brother." A voice cuts off his planning, as Corsaic enters the conversation. "I'm sure you'll have time for such activities later, but I'm sure both parties have pre-arranged plans for the day." He reminds him, trying to help improve his brother's social skills.

"Oh! Yes! I'm sorry Yang, but I have to accompany my brother to registration. Perhaps some other time?" He asks politely, hoping he hadn't been rude.

"Yeah, sure, but... registration for what?" She asks.

"We're participating in the Vytal Tournament." The two brothers said in unison.

The team were all silent. That... was unexpected, to say the least. "Wait, the two of you are going to be in the Tournamnet?" Blake asks rhetorically, just having to make sure she heard them right.

"Yes. We are combat ready!" Fennec says enthusiastically. Blake took the opportunity to grab him by the shoulders.

"So does that mean you met that... rapscallion from the boat?" She asks, deciding to use a different word after a glare from Weiss.

"I'm sorry, but I'm not sure who you are referring to." Fennec states simply.

"The irresponsible stow-away from the port! The criminal!" She half says, half yells.

"Stop using that word." Weiss says in a soft, but firm tone.

Blake turns to face her. She looked like she couldn't believe Weiss had just said that. "What?" She asks incredulously.

"Stop calling them criminals, stop thinking that just because they've broken the law, that their irredeemable. They're still people!" Weiss says passionately.

"People that endanger others through their disregard for laws established to keep us safe!" Blake says, equally passionately. "There's no good reason to steal or damage property, and there's _absolutely_ no reason to hurt another person!"

"You call others out on theft when you're family has been exploiting their wealth to gain political power and drive everyone else out of business!" Weiss snaps back.

"They're methods are within their right as business owners. They haven't broken any laws!" Blake says, shaking her head.

"Yeah, because bribes are a perfectly legal and moral business practice." Weiss says sarcastically, walking away from the group. Blake is left furious.

"How dare you?! We are _teammates,_ you should show a little more respect!" The cat faunus declares haughtly, walking after the girl in white.

The two continued arguing, while Yang and Ruby stood back, not wanting to get mixed up in all of this. Corsaic seemed to have a similar idea.

"Yes, well, as we have said before, we have important business to attend to. If you will excuse us." He says politely, gently nudging Fennec.

"Oh, yes! Goodbye, everyone!" Fennec says, waving. With that, the brothers leave the team to their own devices.

"And you said you weren't a people-person." Ruby chuckles. Yang tries to respond, but Blake and Weiss' loud argument cuts her off.

"A criminal is a criminal!"

"Nobody is ever just one thing!"

The sisters look on, grimacing.

"We should go." Yang suggests.

"Yep."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Hours had passed, and Team RWBY met back at their dorm after they all had went their separate ways. It was now dark out, and much to Yang and Rubys' ire, Blake and Weiss were still arguing.

"Why are you defending these people? They've done nothing for you!" Blake argues.

"So that's it? The only important thing is if they benefit you? Of course a Belladona would think that!" Weiss accuses, pointing at Blake.

"That's not what I meant and you know it!" She pauses. "You want to know why I hate the White Fang? Why I won't forgive criminals?" She asks, walking over to the window.

"It's because they've been close to my family. Back when the White Fang were just a protest group, my family gave them financial support. They funded several groups of faunus workers during strikes and walkouts, and supplied protesters with signs, outfits, and even food and sleeping bags." She sounded almost... happy to recount these times. She was an avid supporter of the _old_ White Fang.

"But then they changed. They decided that their efforts weren't enough as is, and resorted to meaningless violence. We still sent support to certain White Fang groups, they weren't completely crazy yet, but..." She pauses at this. It almost... hurt to say this next part.

"Then the assassination came. The president of Mistral was killed by White Fang assailants, and the entire organization cheered at their death." She clenches her fist, and turns on Weiss.

"My family cut off all support to the White Fang, and ever since then those damn terrorists have been targeting my family- They've been targeting me! I would love for them to be good again, trust me, I would! But we all know they're never going back to how they were!" She yells, before changing her voice to a dangerous whisper.

"Do you know how many times someone has tried to kidnap me, or worse? Do you know how many times I met someone who seemed nice, and normal, just for them to swing a knife later that same _day?_ No! You don't! You'll never know that, because you're not a target of those PSYCHOPATHS!" Blake screams, slamming her fist onto the railing of her bed.

Weiss shuts her eyes, but not in shame.

She was furious. She knew something Blake didn't, something she couldn't tell anyone. But right now, rubbing that knowledge in Blake's face was far too good a chance to pass up.

She opens her eyes and coldly, calmly walks to her bed and pulls out her suitcase. She carefully, deliberately unlatches it, and lays the opened suitcase on her bed. She pulls out a piece of folded, black cloth and holds it in the air in front of Blake.

"Yes, I am." She says softly, eyeing the cat faunus.

With a sudden, violent motion the fabric that was once in Weiss's hands was flung into Blake's face with enough force to knock her onto her bed.

Blake rips the fabric from her face, but before she could direct her fury at Weiss, the white-clad student had already ran out of the room.

"YOU BRAT!" She screams out of the door frame, not bothering to chase after her.

"Uhhhhmmmm... Blake..?" Ruby asks quietly, almost scared.

"What?!" Blake responds, whipping her head back inside the room.

"What's that stuff on your face?"

"What?" She asks again, less aggressively. She touches her face, and feels a sort of powder on her cheek. She looks at her fingers, which were now stained red. The red powder felt like makeup.

After a moment, she realized where the powder came from. She looks at the cloth that was clutched in her fist, and her blood ran cold.

On the fabric there was a red symbol. It had the head of a wolf, with three slashes running vertically down it. The paint-like coloring shown blood-red.

It was the symbol of the White Fang.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weiss ran all the way out into the courtyard, where a statue was dedicated to the Huntsmen of the world.

It depicted two Huntsmen, weapons brandished, posing over a lone Beowolf. She stared at the statue, but not in pride. She looked on in hopelessness at the one Grimm- the one _beast,_ that was below the the humans. She stood there for a few minutes, unsure of what to do, or where to go.

"Been a long time, Schnee."

She looks behind her to see an old friend.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was morning in Vale.

As the sun rose and the small hours of the morning passed, Yang woke from her sleep. As she sat up and yawned, she looked at the bed Weiss sleeps in.

The one that was still empty.

She sighs. "Weiss..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The three remaining members of Team RWBY were on the streets, searching for their missing companion.

"Where could she be? She's been gone all weekend. This isn't like her..." Ruby mutters, kicking the ground as she walks.

"I don't know..." Yang says quietly, thinking for a second. "Do you guys have any ideas?"

Ruby just shakes her head, while Blake gives no response.

"Blake?"

Blake just shakes her head. "I don't know, I don't care. So long as she's away from us." She says coldly, without remorse.

"Blake!" Yang yells, while Ruby just gasps.

"What?! We all saw the emblem! Hell, she threw it at us! She's a member of those fanatics!" Blake argues.

Yang just shakes her head. "We don't know that. She said she was being targeted by the White Fang, so we need to find her and figure out everything else that's going on." She says firmly, holding faith in her friend.

Blake stays silent for a moment. "... Fine, but don't blame me when she turns out to be something other than what you think." She says sternly.

"I just hope she's alright..." Ruby says quietly.

Yang looks worriedly at her sister. _'She normally doesn't worry this much about anyone... We need to find Weiss soon.'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was midday in downtown Vale, and Weiss was collecting her thoughts. She was on a terrace cafe, drinking tea with an old friend. He sat across from her, quietly sipping at his tea despite not really being thirsty.

After a while, he puts down his cup. "How long has it been, Weiss? Three, four years?" He asks, his voice filled with melancholy.

"Four years." She answers. "Four years I rather would have skipped."

He nods his head. "So I guess it's safe to assume you've broken from the White Fang?"

"Yep, just like you." She answers. He nods his head again. "Though, looking back, I wish I had done it sooner." After a minute of comfortable silence, Weiss speaks up again.

"Despite everything going on... No, especially with everything going on, it's good to have you back." For the first time in a while, Weiss smiles.

"It's good to see you again, Adam."

He returns the smile. "It's good to see you too, Weiss."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: That break got me on fire! I managed to write this chapter pretty quick, though that may be because I've been taking a bit more time out of my schedule to write this. I've been really satisfied with these recent chapters, I guess it's just because I've been getting a bit more experience under my belt.**

 **Next chapter is the swapped White trailer! Both Adam and Weiss will get a healthy bit of backstory here, so that will help clear up their understanding of each other and their current circumstances.**

 **Oh, and good news!**

 **The White Trailer is already under development!**

 **Expect it to come out within the next few days, I'm already about a fifth complete!**

 **Other than that, I have a small announcement. I'm planning on putting RWBY: SWAP on hold to pursue other projects. I'm planning on completing up to Volume 2: Chapter 2 and then start on something else.**

 **Other than that, on to reviews!**

 **Bomberguy789:**

I wonder, will Nora's training involve the use of weapons or what? I mean, they're weapons are about as opposite as you can get, which was always the point, but in the case that means that their fighting styles really can't transfer to each other. I'm going to guess the training is just a bunch of push ups and such then. 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats, followed by a 10 kilometre run, every single day!

 **Lie's training will focus more around learning his own strengths, instead of honing his skills. Before you can improve, you must establish.**

 **Royal2:**

Good chapter man can't wait for the next one, go lie show them all your strength.

 **Lie's our guy! Lie's our guy!**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Very nice chapter and not bad fight at all, i'm glad Coco took the message, unlike Cardin, and i hope to see CVFY more in next volumes as the good guys. While i can't wait to see the next battles and whath Weiss faced and how it will go at the docks, since unlike canon!Weiss this time Blake is more or less in the i still advice to don't bash Ghira and Kali, at most making them very protective of Blake and not so trusting of humans. While i hope there will be a lot of Blacksun, Sun is a badass. Keep up the good work and see you soon.

 **Well, now you know how the docks went down! And about Blake's parents**

 **I know you've been asking about this, and you've been advising me against making them cruel, and I have taken it into consideration.**

 **But at the end of the day, it's my fic. I have the ultimate say in this. I don't want to be rude, but I'd prefer if you didn't mention this any more.**

And i hope of course Nora will survive. Though Pyhrra with her personality is amazin.g

 **I hope to give Pyrrha more of a spotlight in later volumes, as well as Jaune. And about Nora... We'll have to see!**


	13. Paralogue 4: White

**Paralogue 4: White**

The two ex-members of the White Fang sat in the cafe, enjoying familiar company.

"So, how'd you get here? Where'd you go?" Weiss asks. She was eager to ask this question, as no one else back in the White Fang was willing to answer.

Adam puts his glass down, and thinks about everything that's happened up to this point. "You heard about my parents, right?" He asks softly.

Weiss gives a sympathetic look. "I... heard they were killed during a protest that turned violent... That's not what happened, was it?" She asks. He shakes his head.

"They were given an assignment." He explains. "I was assigned with them. My orders were to distract the authorities while they broke into the GileBelch mine. It was notorious for faunus pay discrimination. We started after the workday was over, and everyone had gone home."

He pauses for a moment, and takes a deep breath. "I... escaped the police chasing me, and was running back to with my parents when..." He pauses again, his breathing becoming shaky.

Weiss had already pieced together what had happened, but she couldn't find it in herself to stop him.

"I was running back... when I felt it. A massive shock wave. It threw me into the air and onto the ground again. The entire mine collapsed, and... I never saw them again." He finishes, trying to keep a stoic demeanor. "They were tasked with setting off explosives."

"I don't know what happened down there, but I realized what the White Fang really were. I realized the lengths they would go to to achieve their aims. They aren't freedom fighters, they're terrorists. I left to go on a 'mission' and never went back. I hopped on a boat to Vacuo and I've lived my life from there." He looks down at his tea, slowly stirring it with his spoon.

"So that's why you were on the transport ship." Weiss realizes. After a moment, she starts to realize something else. "So does that mean your attending the Huntsmen Academy at Vacuo?"

"Yep. I'm also going to try my luck in the Vytal Tournament. Thankfully I've got a pretty good team to back me up." He says fondly.

"But wait." Weiss says, confused. "If you're attending an Academy, then why were the people on the boat calling you a stowaway? Shouldn't passing the tournament entry exams give you a ticket?"

Adam rubs the back of his neck. "Yeah, about that... I'm not exactly, strictly speaking, a Vacuo citizen. Since the transports and and festival were being funded by the state, I didn't qualify... _But_ since I passed the qualifier rounds, and earned a place in the roster, I could still attend the tournament if I was able to make it. So I took a few liberties and got myself a seat." He explains, not exactly proud of what he had to do.

"I wasn't able to go onto the deck, but I was able to sneak into the cargo bay. It wasn't too bad, my team sneaked me food every day." He shrugs it off. He's been through worse, after all.

"And... did you wear that tux through the entire trip? Across a tropical ocean?" She asks, worried more for the suit than anything.

"Looking back on it, it wasn't the best idea. Got really sweaty. First thing I did coming back was to take a shower"

Weiss laughs a little. _' He never wears the appropriate clothes. I remember how he used to run out in the middle of the night without a coat. Every time he'd come back shivering his butt off, and we'd tell him to stop before he got a cold, but he'd do it the next day anyways. Always looking for some cool hang-out spot or something.'_ She thinks on that for a moment.

 _'Good to see that despite all of this craziness, some things don't change.'_

"So, what about you?" Adam asks, looking up from his cup. "What was your last straw?"

Weiss thought about it, and instantly one incident came to mind. "I was on the fence about leaving for over a year now, but... it was during the Belladonna train heist that I finally left."

"That was you?" Adam asks, slightly surprised.

"And Sun." Weiss says, the name coming out with difficulty.

Adam doesn't say anything for a moment. "... The train heist, huh? That was pretty recent. Surprised you were able to stay for so long, considering your parents." He points out. He didn't mean any offense by it, and Weiss understood what he meant.

She sighs. "Yeah. Between them being the former leaders and my dad being human, it didn't make things easy." She says, somewhat subconscious about it. "I'm pretty sure the only reason I wasn't kicked out was because Sun had a thing for me."

Although she was of mixed heritage, her swan-faunus mother shown through. Tiny, pure white feathers lay flat against her back... but with no wings to support them. Nobody knows why her wings never developed, but at least they were easy to conceal, just about any shirt could cover them easily.

She thought about the heist... that afternoon was engraved into her mind, and probably wasn't leaving anytime soon.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was evening in Vale. The crimson leaves of Forever Fall were raining down onto the forest floor. A sea of red greeted those above and below the treeline.

The tranquility of the woods was destroyed as a metal abomination raced through the trees. Branches broke, leaves were thrown into a whirlwind, and the forest itself flew into a frenzy as the train sped across the land.

Close to the tracks, a girl in white sat still. She seemed to be counting the leaves still in the trees, waiting for something. She felt the wind change, and she knew it was time. She draws her rapier and summons a staircase of glyphs. One step after the other she climbed, until she stood nearly twenty feet in the air. She looked down upon the tracks, and after a moment a thundering beast of metal and smoke blazed past. The train had a logo: "Belladonna Industries."

She takes a step forwards, and falls onto the train. She lands on the cargo hold with a three-point landing, and waits.

She waited a few minutes more, before he arrives. "What's shakin' bacon?"

She turns around to see a young man with platinum blond hair, and a jet black, unbuttoned shirt. He wore a white mask in the likeness of a Grimm. He wore a fixed grin, as if he was always having the time of his life. A yellow tail swung behind him.

Weiss seems indifferent. "This should be the cargo. If we break into here, we'll be able to extract the Dust shipment easily." She says, having planned everything out in advanced.

"Why so cold, Ice Queen? Can't we have a moment?" He asks, still smiling.

"No, Sun. Not the time, we have a job to do." She says sternly.

"Come on! Work can still be fun!" He says, pulling out a piece of C4. He tosses it on the roof and the two run up towards the front of the train. After going about twenty feet, they stop and brace themselves. Sun flicked the switched, and a small explosion blows a hole through the roof of the train. They were pushed forwards slightly, but regained their balance quickly.

The two jump into the cargo hold to find out exactly what kind of cargo it was. Twenty security bots stood inactive in the train, the explosion alerting them. They all surround the two White Fang, aiming their arm cannons towards them.

"... Wrong compartment." Weiss says quietly, fairly embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. It'll be some good exercise." He says casually, hands on his hip.

 **"INTRUDER. IDENTIFY YOURSELF."** One croaked, taking aim at Sun.

Sun stares down the robot for a few moments, before his grin turns psychotic. In the blink of an eye he whips out the gunchucks at his hip. The ends of the weapons revealed barrels at each end, and a click of the trigger blew the arms off the robot's body.

Twenty guns went off at once, trying to reduce the two to Swiss cheese. With a simple wave of her rapier, four shielding glyphs covered them from all sides, protecting them.

In a brief break of gunfire Sun leaps out, his gunchucks spinning like helicopter blades as he smashed each robot he walked past. Any bullets coming for him were swatted out of the air by the whirling weapons.

Weiss summoned countless glyphs throughout the room. She leaped through each and reappeared from another. She slashed at their arms and heads, cleaving off whatever she could as she danced throughout their numbers.

An arm severed.

A chest blasted open.

A head popped off.

The bots fell one by one, each was struck down with ruthless professionalism.

The last one was scrapped, leaving only Weiss and Sun in the train compartment.

"Well that was fun!" Sun says genuinely. He walks towards one of the exits and holds the door open for Weiss. She rolls her eyes and walks out.

Wind pounded them as they walked out, for there were no ceiling or walls on the other side. It was an open platform, where multiple armaments were strapped down for transport. They could already see more bots dashing down the platforms, determined to neutralize the threat on the train.

"Freeze it up!" Sun yells, reloading his gunchucks. Weiss creates a glyph directly in front of them, adjusting it slightly to aim towards the incoming enemies. Sun loads his gunchucks and fires directly into the glyph. The pellets froze in midair, causing anything touched by them to freeze in that spot.

Sun fired round after round into the freezing ring. Countless pellets were being unloaded like water from a sprinkler, freezing the mechanical army on impact. None of the bots were even able to reach the White Fang duo. The enemies now reduced to the least appetizing popsicle sticks on the planet, the two walk forward unimpeded to the storage car.

Inside the car many crates and tanks of Dust were being held. Sun walked up to one crate in particular...

"Fire Dust, sweet! Time to blow the joint!" He says enthusiastically. He pulls out more bricks of C4 and places two on the crate.

"Wait, what? What about the passengers? Some of them are faunus!" Weiss argues, stepping in front of Sun. He looks at her oddly.

"They'll blow up, too. What's the big deal?" He says without a care in the world. He was genuinely confused about this!

Weiss looks furious. "This wasn't part of the plan! We're not here to-"

She was cut off by a loud screech. They look down the length of the car to see the shadows seemingly move. Suddenly, a massive Atlesian Spider Droid descends from the ceiling, preparing to neutralize the intruders.

It had five legs arranged in a star shape and two arm cannons. Weiss forms a glyph to prepare for the coming fight, but it proves fruitless. The two cannons on the droid form as one, and moments later a massive beam rips through the train car, sending Sun and Weiss flying.

They were knocked out onto another car, having been flung through a wall that was destroyed from the laser. They slowly rise from the ground, and watched as the droid chased them outside.

"SCRAP THE THING!" Sun screams almost incoherently. He whips out his gunchucks and starts taking potshots, while Weiss forms a glyph path, which in turn speeds her forward and places her in position to strike at it's legs.

She slashes at one, before speeding past it to slash at another. She runs laps around it's legs, slashing at whatever was in reach. With a twitch and a twirl, the droid slams one of it's legs into Weiss, sending her reeling.

Sun continues firing at the steel abomination, to no avail. The shotgun bullets and shells bounce off of it's thick armor, and it retaliates with another, smaller, laser blast. Sun dodges out of the way by jumping into the air towards the droid. At the same time, he connects his gunchucks, forming a bo staff.

He swipes savagely at it's midsection, tearing at the steel. Ineffective, the machine slams it's cannon into Sun, flinging him next to Weiss. They rise to their feet, and Weiss eyes their opponent, looking for a weakness...

Then she notices something odd. From the tear Sun had caused a red glow could be seen. That had to have been...

"Sun! Rip that thing's chest open, that's where it's engine is!" She yells, preparing a glyph. "I need a clear shot!"

"Got it!" He claps his hands together, and two golden, transparent copies of him run towards the mech. It fires it's two individual cannons at his copies, which dodge nimbly around it. They climb it's body and each grab opposite ends of the tear. Slowly, the metal tore away, revealing the glowing engine inside.

Weiss takes aim, and flicks her wrist. A string of glyphs appear in front of her, forming something akin to the barrel of a rifle. Holding her rapier behind her, she takes a single step forwards and takes flight.

She shot off like a bullet at the machine as she passed through each of the glyphs. With a loud hiss, her rapier pierced the abominations engine, and without missing a beat she sliced upwards, cutting it in half while it was still in the machine's chest.

She summons a glyph behind her, and hops into it, disappearing from sight. From the engine outward, it started to freeze over. The frost continued to spread until the entire frame was covered. Afterwards, it dissolved into snowflakes, leaving no trace of it's existence behind.

Sun was gasping for breath, exhausted from the encounter. All fatigue seemed to disappear a moment later, however, as he started cheering.

"HELL YEAH! That was awesome! You totally-" He looked behind him and found he couldn't finish his sentence. Weiss was standing on a different train car, looking at Sun with disappointment.

"Weiss?" He asks softly, in disbelief. It takes him a moment to realize what she was doing.

"WEISS!" He runs towards her, but isn't fast enough. She stabs at the train latch, disconnecting her car from Sun's. Sun stops and watches as he and Weiss are slowly separated as his car starts to fall behind. Weiss simply looks on without regret, not offering him even a single word.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: White trailer- Done! That's all of the trailers!**

 **I realized I could do a lot with this chapter, what with the timing with the previous chapter. I also used the opportunity to clear up a lot of information regarding their backstory, especially with Adam's situation.**

 **It always struck me as odd considering that, in the show, Sun has had training, and obviously qualified for the Vytal Tournament, but had to sneak a spot on a ship to get there. Why was that?**

 **Now, onto reviews!**

 **Lord Of Memory:**

Awesome as ever. This story just gets better and better. I am a bit confused on how the white fang works in your story but I'll put in more effort to learn also adam and weiss now that is cool. I also see that you replaced penny with the fox brothers from volume 5 so is penny going to be a part of the white fang. Anyway keep up the good work

 **Thanks, man! Penny will indeed be a member of the White Fang, too bad she won't be introduced until Volume 4... At the very least, we can find solace in the mental image of a mouse-faunus Penny!**

 **Royal2:**

Good chapter man can't wait for the next one, so is Weiss still human right? Sorry if that sounded racist I didn't mean it that way.

 **Weiss is half-human, as explained in the chapter. She doesn't have wings, instead she has feathers plastered across her back where her wings should be.**

 **DarkDevilKnight:**

Wait...wait...wait...WWWHHHHHAAAAATTTTTTTTT?!

 **I agree.**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Pretty nice chapter, though as i said Blake was more or less in the right, Weiss as much enraged could stay and talk. Sorry if i was annoying about thath point, just i'm a fan of the panther parents. And you surprised me a lot, i didn't expect the Fennec brothers to take Penny's place, or Adam having Sun's, i though Neptune would be the one to arrive and thath Adam would be switched with Winter. Aniway, keep up the good work and see you soon, best of luck with everything.

 **It's all cool :)**

 **Honestly, I originally just swapped the brothers and Penny just because I was running out of people to swap. After some planning though, I realized what amazing situations I could write out! But don't worry, we'll be seeing Neptune soon...**

 **Bomberguy789:**

Did someone mention that something shouldn't be mentioned anymore? I feel as if it's worth mentioning that telling people not to mention something they were already mentioning despite the act of mentioning it being unimportant is like mentioning things that Trump mentions about women to women who dislike Trump, and then expecting those women I mentioned not to mention it to others.  
It also turns out that mentioning the word mention repeatedly makes the word mention sound weirder and weirder each and every time.

Anyway, the chapter. It's definitely cool how things have been spun around with the White Fang and the Belladonna's, even if I'm slightly confused as to how Weiss's relationship with them works. Is she one of the few human sympathisers? How does it even work? Eh, who knows. I'm interested in the answer though. And Corsaic and Fennec have joined the swap squad! I definitely hadn't seen that one coming, so nice work on that part. I'm always curious to see which of their original traits remain. Anyway, great work as always, and keep it up!

 **It's nothing, don't worry about it.**

 **Thankfully, Weiss's situation was explained this chapter! Like I said before, Corsaic and Fennec weren't originally planned like this, but I'm happy it did! They're definitely one of the weirdest swaps in the story, though there are weirder...**

 **Stay tuned, and see you next chapter!**


	14. Chapter 10: Black and White

**Chapter 10: White and Black**

 **NOTICE! Important announcement at the bottom! It will be below the reviews!**

On a terrace cafe in downtown Vale, two ex- White Fang sat there, catching up on time lost over a cup of tea.

"So, tell me about your team. They're from Vacuo, too, right?" Weiss asks, taking a sip from her cup afterwords.

Adam nods his head. "Yeah. They're definitely... interesting, to say the least." He says, trying to put it gently. "Not to say anything bad about them! I love them to bits, but they're characters, for sure."

Weiss gives a chuckle. "Oh, really? Well then what are these 'characters' like?" She says, raising an eyebrow.

Adam leans back in his chair. "Well, there's Arslan Altan. Kind of like the second in command for the group. I'm the leader by the way." He says quickly, gesturing to himself.

"She's incredibly strong. She's pretty charismatic, too, and has a lot of friends. Which is surprising considering she actually isn't very talkative." He explains. He pauses, but jumps up slightly once he remembered another thing. "Oh! And she's a huge flirt. I mean, it has to be seen to be believed. A new boyfriend or girlfriend about every other month."

Weiss couldn't really think of anything else to say other than "Wow."

"I know, right? Oh, and then there's Flynt. His full name's Flynt Coal."

Weiss stops him there. "Wait, his name is _Flynt Coal?_ " She asks incredulously.

"Yeah. He's not sure what his parents were thinking, either. That aside, he's nice, even though his witty remarks can- and will- test your sanity." He says, rolling his eyes. "He's also an excellent trumpeter! He takes a lot of pride in it, since the occupation's been in the family for a while."

"I'll have to ask for a performance, then." Weiss says, before taking another sip of her tea.

"Yeah. And then there's Neon Katt, Flynt's girlfriend. Very energetic, talks very fast, and is very happy, all the time." He summarizes. "You're always in for an interesting conversation, even if you didn't originally intend to have one." He chuckles, before a more worried look replaces his smile.

"I wasn't able to find them after I left the boat. I wonder where they are..?"

"At this time of day? I'd assume they'd be in Beacon right now, touring the campus. It _is_ where they'll be living for the next few weeks, since the Vytal Festival is approaching. They've had a full day to rest after the trip, after all." She surmises instantly.

Adam's eyes widen slightly in faint surprise. "You know, I never got used to how fast you can figure things out like that. You're like a teenage Sherlock Holmes who can fight monsters."

She smiles. "Credit goes to Blake. I wouldn't have known this if she didn't drag us down to the pier yesterday morning. She recited their entire schedule so we could show them around campus."

"That's nice of her." Adam says without really thinking.

Blake just rolls her eyes. "Yeah, right. She just wants to learn her competition for the Vytal Tournament." She says, fairly annoyed.

"Huh. Well then, I suppose she's just being smart, then." He says, before taking a drink.

Weiss shoots him a glare so sharp he almost chokes on his tea. "What? It's a solid plan!" He says, trying to defend himself.

"How, though? All she's doing is tricking people and feigning kindness to gain an advantage."

A moment of silence.

Adam was the first to speak up. "... I'm guessing you two had an argument?"

Weiss's scowl was dropped and replaced with a weary look. "... I guess you could say that. I'm... not sure if I'll be able to go back." She said uncertainly.

Adam could take a wild guess. "They know?"

Weiss nods.

Adam contemplates this for a minute. "Well... what are you going to do now?"

That was the question.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"Weeeeeeeiiiiiiiiissssssss!"

Yang, Ruby, and Blake were on the streets, looking for their missing teammate.

"Weiss! Where are you?" Yang yells.

"Weeeeeeeiiiiiiiiissssssss!" Ruby yells again, cupping her hands together to make herself louder.

Blake had remained silent, with her arms crossed.

Yang glares at her. "Blake, come on! Just help us look for her, alright?"

Blake shoots the glare right back. "We should call the police. She's a missing person." She states simply.

"You only say that because you want her arrested!" Yang accuses. "We need to hear her side of the story before we do anything rash."

"Rash?!" Blake yells, furious. "She's part of the White Fang! Do you know how many crimes they've committed?"

"Yes, but she's not a faunus. Don't you think it's weird that a faunus supremacy group would take a human?" Yang reasons.

"She could have just been hiding her faunus trait. It's not exactly hard, depending on what kind of faunus you are." Blake argues back.

"Weeeeeeeiiiiiiiiissssssss!" Ruby repeats, ignoring the both of them.

"If I may, who is Weiss again?"

The new voice confused the three teammates, unsure of where it came from.

"Is that a personal question?"

They look behind them and see Fennec standing behind them, all smiles.

They all jump back in fear, before Yang switches to annoyance. "Fennec... Where did you come from?!"

"I have been walking with you for the past five minutes. I've been waiting for a chance to join the conversation." He says innocently.

"Oh." Yang didn't know whether to feel guilty or beyond creeped-out. Honestly, she felt a bit of both.

"Perhaps I could help look for your companion?" He asks awkwardly.

Yang hesitates. "Well, I really appreciate the offer, but we got it-" She looks behind her to gesture to her friends... but finds that they're nowhere to be seen.

"Uhhhmmmm... When..?"

"They left when you said 'Oh'." Fennec explains helpfully.

Yang remains in silence.

A tumbleweed flutters past.

Fennec looks confused. "I thought tumbleweeds were native to Menagerie, not Vale. Hmmm... I will have to update my information later."

This caught Yang off guard. "Wait, update?"

Fennec seems to ignore this. "Come! Let us find your friend!" He says while walking off.

Yang sighs remorsefully. "Today is not my day..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weiss and Adam were walking along the streets, thinking on their next move. "I still don't think the White Fang are doing all of these Dust robberies. They've never stolen on this level before." Weiss states, convinced.

"You were in the White Fang longer than me, so I'll take your word for it." Adam says, inspecting his katana as they walked.

Weiss looks at him, annoyed. "Do you really have to brandish your weapon in public?"

Adam gets defensive. "What? There's no carry laws for weapons if your a Huntsmen student, right?"

"No, but it's still intimidating and careless towards the public. Huntsmen and civilians don't have the best relationship, if you didn't know." She says sharply.

Adam relents. "Okay, point taken." He sheathes his sword. "So, what's the plan?"

"We need to figure out who's pulling these robberies. To do that, we need to be at the same place, at the same time as the robbers." She explains, already having formulated her plan earlier. "If their stealing Dust, we need to compile a list of all remaining sources of Dust in Vale."

Adam realizes something, and smiles. "No need! On the transport ship, I hid in the cargo hold. On it, there was a massive shipment of Dust. Belladonna Industries. Would be a prime target since it just landed." He explains, slightly proud of his info.

Weiss thinks on it for a minute. "A Dust shipment... Yes, that would be perfect. The robberies always take place at night. Let's go."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yang was walking along with Fennec, still looking for Weiss despite the sun beginning to set. Yang decided to open up a conversation to break the awkward air. "So... where's your brother?"

"Corsaic? He's off with Father at the moment. Business matters, they say." He explains, not realizing how vague the explanation is.

"Who's your dad?" Yang asks.

"He's a wonderful man. Heads a research facility, in fact." He says with a nod.

This piqued Yang's interests. "Cool... What kind of research?"

Fennec just shakes his head. "I'm sorry, but Father and Brother would rather me not say. The information is classified, unfortunately."

"Oh... Okay." Yang says, disappointed.

"So, do you have any clues as to where your friend is?" Fennec asks without really thinking. If they did, they would probably have found her already.

She sighs. "No... we pretty much have to just keep looking around until we find her."

Fennec thinks on that for a moment. "That is... unfortunate." He states simply.

Yang rolls her eyes. "No kidding, but it's all we can do. Let's keep looking."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

On a different- and preferably for them- far away road from Yang and Fennec, Ruby and Blake also continued the search. They had just exited a cafe, who could not remember the individual they were looking for. Ruby had remained silent as they left the establishment.

"Thank you very much. Have a nice day." She said in Ruby's place. The door closed behind them, and they were left in silence.

"... Let's try downtown." Blake says simply. She begins to walk off, but stops once she notices that Ruby wasn't following.

"Ruby?"

Ruby was looking at the ground, and was silent for a few moments. "... It doesn't matter to you, does it? You really do hate her now... don't you?"

Blake found she couldn't respond. Nothing she could say sounded right to her. "I-I don't know." She eventually blutters out. "I'm..." She tries to say something else, but nothing comes to her. "... I don't know."

Ruby remains silent, and eventually follows Blake downtown.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was nightfall, and all was quiet in Vale Port. The port was filled with shipping containers, some of them were quite tall. Quite a few carried a Belladonna Industries logo. On top of a stack of these, a young woman watched over the port, looking for any suspicious activity.

"Have you seen anything?" A voice asks just to the right of her. For most people, this would have scared the bejebus out of them, but for Weiss it was something she had grown accustomed to long ago.

Weiss shakes her head. "Nothing yet. We'll have to keep waiting."

Adam pulls out a candy bar. "Here." He says, tossing it to her. "Got it from a convenience store."

She looks at it in disdain before tossing it back. "I don't really like junk food, too many empty calories. You can have it, if you want." She offers.

Adam just shrugs, and proceeds to eat the sugary treat. Without anywhere to put the wrapper, he let's it hang in his hand.

The silence persisted for a moment, but only for a moment. A great gust pushed the two back, and they braced themselves to stay in their position. They look up to see an airship hovering over the harbor. The wrapper is blown out of Adam's hand, and hits the ground at the same time as the airship lands. The side opens up to allow the passengers off.

Weiss scrambles to the edge of the container they stood on to see who the culprits were. Adam quickly joins her. The group that comes off the ship were all masked, and wore armored grey uniforms. But the thing that stood out the most was...

"No..." Weiss whispers. Adam knows why she's reacting like this, as well.

On the backs of the robbers were red pictures of a wolf's head with a claw mark scraped across. They were White Fang, no doubt about it.

A few seconds of silence passed. Adam looks at Weiss with pity. "Are you really that surprised?" He asks simply, as if the answer had already been clear as day, since he had already lost all trust in the organization long ago.

The question remained without an answer, as Weiss leaped down to the floor of the harbor, and began running towards the crowd.

Adam shakes his head, disappointed things turned out like this. He observes the scene for a moment longer, and what he saw then made his blood run cold.

A human was with them.

Weiss was hiding behind a shipping crate, and observed that same scene. It seemed to be a gangster in a red and black suit, with black hair shaved into a goatee. He held a large metal bat... nothing too dangerous. Something about him though... it seemed familiar. The answer didn't take long to come to her.

"Hei Xiong..." She whispers, having remembered him from a crime report on TV.

"Hey! Hurry it up, will you? We're being _very loud_ right now, so we need to hightail it away from this place before any fuzz show up!" Junior barks, his bat slung over his shoulder.

Weiss darts behind storage crates, getting closer to the human who will give her answers. She quickly gets into striking distance...

"Don't bother grabbing the half-filled crates, we'll barely have enough time to get the good ones anyway-" He was cut off by the blade of a rapier being held against his throat. "What?! Who the he-"

"Nobody move!" Weiss yells, garnering the attention of the whole crew. They draw their weapons, each one having either a sword or a gun.

"My brothers and sisters, why are you working under a corrupt human such as this?! Isn't our entire code built to oppose such people? To create a kinder world for the faunus?!" Weiss preaches, her words reaching the ears and hearts of most of the White Fang members. Their weapons drop slightly, as each one resigns themselves to their fate. They all held expressions of guilt, knowing they were betraying their ideals.

Junior just looked smug. "You think you'll change their minds with a pretty little speech? Their terrorists, hun, and terrorists need weapons. I'm just helping them arm themselves."

Weiss looked among her brothers and sisters, and was infuriated when none of them spoke out against the crime boss. "... Are you just going to let him say that?! This is the attitude we're trying to beat! We're trying to beat the defeatism that lets humans like this walk over us!"

As she tries to persuade them to turn against Junior, her rapier drops from his neck slightly. It couldn't have been more than an inch, but it was enough. He quickly grabs the blade of the sword at the tip and throws it away from him. Before Weiss could react to the change in positions, Junior uses his right arm to swing his bat at her. It connects at the midsection, sending her flying away from the group.

Junior adjusted to the change in distance and changed his bat into a bazooka, taking aim at Weiss. She rises from the ground, still recovering from Junior's first strike. She looks at Junior's new position, and reacts as quickly as she can.

As Junior fired off a hail of missiles, Weiss summons a glyph behind her and steps into it, disappearing from view just as the missiles made contact with the ground.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The explosion could be heard throughout most of the city. It reached out far enough to reach the ears of Yang and Fennec, who were still searching the streets. They looked towards the source of the noise and saw smoke rising from the harbor.

They found Weiss, at least.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Junior was searching around, looking for his lost mark. "Where'd you go? You can't hide forever!" He yells. Something danced around his peripheral vision, and he swung his head around to find it. A shadow darted around his eyesight, causing him to get more and annoyed. "Where are you?!"

"Here."

For a moment, he was confused as to why the voice wasn't the same as hers, but his confusion dissipated when a figure landed in front of him, clutching his sheathed blade.

"Sorry to say, but I'm your opponent today." Adam said, staring down his enemy.

Junior scowls. "Another brat? Fine, I'll make some time to pummel you." He threatens, transforming his bazooka into a bat, Adam being too close to fire at.

Junior runs at the ex-White Fang, and slams his bat down in a vertical swing. Adam takes a quick step to the right, slashing at him in the same motion. The blade bounces off his aura, with Junior barely noticing the attack.

Junior grips his bat, still scraping the ground, and swings it with wild abandon in an arc around him. Adam ducks under the bat with ease, not allowing himself to fall to such sloppy technique.

The White Fang aim their weapons at Adam, determined to kill a "traitor" to their race and not caring whether or not they kill Junior in the process.

"Stop!"

The one word paused the grunts for only a second, but it was enough to allow Weiss to strike. A glyph appeared above the mob as Weiss appeared through it, shooting like a bullet to the ground. As she landed she stabbed at the ground, causing icicles to shoot out in all directions, knocking out each of the White Fang at once.

Weiss looks up to see Adam still fighting Junior. The fight simply wore on, with Junior unable to hit Adam, and Adam being unable to strike through Junior's immense Aura.

She dashes towards Junior, catching him just as Adam shoves him away. "Give up, Hei Xiong! You can't win!" She yells, pointing her rapier towards his face.

He hesitates for a moment, before checking his watch... and smirks. "Sorry to say, but those tools back there?" He says while pointing his thumb behind him. "Wasn't the only people showing up."

Just as he says this, a great gust nearly knocks the three off their feet, as two more airships arrived. As they hovered over the three warriors, Gatling gun turrets protruded from the front of each airships, pointed straight towards the two huntsmen-in-training.

As the two stood in shock and panic, Junior acted on their indecision and rushed Adam.

"Adam!"

He turned towards Junior, who was already too close to defend against. He was helpless.

 _Bang!_

A bullet sliced against Junior's back, nearly depleting his Aura. "The hell..?!"

He looked towards the source of the shot, and sees a golden-haired swordswoman, with an unarmed companion at her side.

His scowl turns into a sick sneer. "Well, long time no see, Blondie! Didn't think I'd see you here!" he yells, throwing his arms into the air.

Fennec looks between the three on the ground, trying to distinguish friend and foe. After a moment, he points at Weiss. "That's your friend, correct? We've found her?"

"Fennec, stay back..." Yang says, lining up another shot. As she took aim, a sound similar to the tearing of metal assaults her ears, throwing her off. She looks to see the airships had open fire on her, Countless bullets zipped past her, and there wasn't any usable cover. She called upon her aura and closed her eyes, preparing to weather through the storm of bullets...

 _Dink!_

She heard hundreds of bullets collide with something metallic, but none had hit her... She opened her eyes to see none other than Fennec standing in front of her, arms stretched in an effort to protect her.

Yang stood motionless, horror and guilt engulfed her as she realized what had happened.

"FENNEC!"

"Yes?"

Her guilt and horror disappeared as Fennec calmly, casually turned around, as if the bullets had just bounced off.

Yang looked him up and down for any injuries, and yet not a single bullet-hole was to be found. "H-How did..?"

"My aura protected me." Fennec says casually, without concern.

Yang was left in disbelief, nobody could have an Aura that strong! But what else could have saved him..?

Yang's thought process was cut off as a rocket collided with her, sending her flying.

It was quite rude, really.

Fennec turned his head towards the culprit, the crime boss with a bazooka in his hands. At the same moment, the airships resumed to fire at Fennec's position, with squads of White Fang dropping out from the bottoms of the ships.

The bullets did him no harm, every one bouncing off of his Aura. He flicks his wrist and a red, almost ceremonial looking dagger was flung into his hand from within his sleeve. A bright crimson, spiral pattern shone along it's cone-shaped blade.

He jumps down to the cement pathways of the docks, preparing to face the multiple squads of White Fang. The crowd charges him with blades drawn, without any sense of tactics. Fennec runs his eyes over the crowd, calculating the best course of action. In approximately 0.2769 seconds, he formulated a solution.

He flicks his wrist again, and the crimson spiral of his weapon turns into a crisp white. He points it at the ground in front of him, and a blast of frost Dust creates a smooth, slippery carpet of ice on the cement. With no time to react, the crowd run across the icy ground, each one slipping and sliding comically to the ground, unable to continue their charge.

Fennec waves his knife upwards, creating a wall of solid ice in front of the mob. One of them rubs their head and looks up towards Fennec, only to see ice.

"Huh?"

Fennec raises his hands and pushes against the air, shoving the ice wall into the toppled crowd, and sweeping them away like one would sweep dust with a broom.

The sound of tearing metal filled Fennec's ears once more as the ships fired at him. He flicks his wrist again, and the spiral changes back to a bright crimson. He points the knife towards one of the ships, launching intense fire balls towards it. Most miss, but a few clip the wings, doing minimal damage at best.

In the undamaged ship, the turret operator yells to the pilot. "Change it to the tesla cannon!" The pilot hesitates for a moment, wondering if it was necessary, but makes up his mind a moment later after thinking about how powerful Fennec seemed to be.

The Gatling gun transformed into a single barrel, with pure energy sparking from within. The ball of electricity grew larger, until it was almost too big for the barrel. With a loud crack, it blasted towards the young warrior.

With complete calm and clarity, he holds his dagger in front of him, waiting for the electric blast to hit. It collides with the dagger, and all of the energy was slowly sucked into the blade, until the ball of energy disappeared completely. With that, the spiral turned a neon yellow.

Fennec flashes a grin.

He swipes at the air, and a bolt of electricity was sent back at the airship that fired it in the first place. It pierced the hull of the airship and nearly tore it in half. The weapon of war plummeted from the sky and crashed into the ocean, any evidence of it's existence being swept beneath the waves.

The second, damaged airship landed, allowing the injured Hei Xiong on board. As he steps on, he looks between all of the future Huntsmen, and sighs. "Do all the freaks hate me or somethin'..?" He tightens his tie, and closes the hatch. The airship takes off and escapes the scene.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

An hour had passed, and each of the teenagers were sitting around to the harbor as police investigated the scene and assessed damages. None of them felt like talking... that is, until, Blake and Ruby reach the group.

Weiss stands up, and confronts her teammate whom she had fought with the day before. Everyone gets on edge, hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

The silence was deafening.

"... Well?" Blake asks.

"Well, what?" Weiss asks, not getting what she meant.

"I want an apology." She says simply, as if it was obvious.

Weiss gets furious. "Seriously? An apology?! After all this?!"

Before she could continue, Blake raises her hand. "Apology first, talking later."

Weiss was fuming. She had it up to *here* with the Belladonna, but she bit back her frustrations and swallowed her pride.

"... I'm sorry. There, you happy?"

"Yes, actually." Blake says without hesitation, only further annoying Weiss.

"I'm sorry, too."

Weiss wasn't expecting that.

"I don't have the right to paint everyone who has made a mistake like that in the same light. Even among such people there are those who can be genuinely good, too... People like you." She says slowly, trying to put her thoughts into words.

Weiss was left speechless, having not seen this side of Blake before.

"I'm not going to lie: I don't like humans. All of my life I've been taught they're ruthless and cruel. I still don't particularly trust them, but... when I came to Beacon, I had to take a chance on all of you, and..." She looks towards Yang and Ruby.

"... It paid off."

She turns back towards Weiss. "I want to know that, if I take a chance again, that will pay off, too." She says softly, hopefully.

Weiss stays silent for a moment, before nodding. "I'll do everything I can for you guys. This team is everything to me."

Everything went quite, the argument seemingly resolved. Blake's ears perked up, having realized something. "Your not with the White Fang anymore, right?" She adds quickly.

Weiss shakes her head. "No, I quit before coming to Beacon."

Blake quickly nods. "Okay, good."

The tension in the air faded away, as Team RWBY was reunited and repaired.

Blake's attention quickly switches to Weiss's crimson haired companion. "I!.. Don't know who you are!" She exclaims suspiciously, pointing a finger at him.

"Uhhhhh... My name's Adam Taurus. Also... you know, former White Fang." he admits sheepishly.

Blake was flabbergasted. "I- You, too?!"

Weiss quickly intervenes. "You said you would take a chance, right?!"

Blake looks between the two of them before letting out a large sigh.

"... I did say that..."

Yang steps into the conversation to lighten the mood. "Sooooo... Yeah! Team RWBY's back! Heck yeah!" As she says this, however, she notices something strange.

"Wait, where'd Fennec go?"

Everyone looks around, unable to find the person in question. He was just there, wasn't he?

As it turns out, he was sitting in the passenger seat of a limo with his brother, who was driving. "Fennec, you should know better than to demonstrate your power such as that." Corsaic scolds.

"I know."

"Father and Uncle will want to hear what happened today." Corsaic adds.

"I know."

A few seconds of silence.

"... Don't worry, Brother. One day, we will be able to go wherever we wish. One day." He promises.

"... I know."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In Beacon Tower, Salem was reading a novel. It was about a woman who's body had two souls. She found it humorously ironic.

 _Bzzzzzt!_

Her scroll went off, and she swiped the screen to check the message.

 **RAVEN: KING HAS PAWNS**

Salem sighs, and puts down the scroll.

 _"I_ _f only I didn't already know that..."_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Hey, everyone! I'm sorry for the HUGE delay from the last chapter, but I have a good reason! Finals were last week, so I was absolutely swamped with work and studying for the tests. That being said, it's Summer now! So I've got even more time to work on this!  
**

 **In other news, with this chapter done, that means the whole first season is done! Huzzah!**

 **Also, like it says at the top of the page, I've got an announcement at the bottom of the page, so be sure to check it out after the reviews.**

 **Speaking of reviews...**

 **Royal2**

That cool man Weiss being half human very interesting can't wait for the next chapter to come.

 **Yeah, sorry for it to take so long!**

 **DarkDevilKnight**

So if Weiss mother is a swan faunus and have wings on her back...that makes her the Snow Angel in this fic!

 **Uhm, what's the Snow Angel? Is that another fic?  
**

 **merendinoemiliano**

Very cool chapter and fight,as much of a Sun's fan i an(or maybe in fact for it) i loved this villain version and i can't wait to see whath he will do,tough i would leave his Aura's glow golden. And as World Of Remnant explained,half faunus don't exist, the child of a mixed couple can be either an human of a faunus,but not an hybrid,it wouldn't even make sense, considering faunus have just one animals trait. Aniway, keep up the good work and see you soon.

 **Thanks! I was pretty excited to try a sort of "psychopathic manchild" sort of character, and it was pretty fun. Also, I probably should have researched the whole faunus deal before I wrote the chapter...  
**

 **Lessons for later!**

 **Bomberguy789**

Ooh, now that's certainly going to be a change of pace. Sun Wukong eh? Is he a leader in the White Fang like Adam was, or just a follower? How will he act different come Volume 3? I doubt he can just cut someone's limb off after all... come to think of it, even if he lands one of his combos on someone, what permanent damage would that leave? Brain damage? Because that seems like a little too much.

And Weiss being half Faunus is definitely something I can get behind. I wonder if she actually considered it a secret, or if it was just one of those things that never came up (I mean, how would you even bring that up anyway? So, we have English homework due in today, someone needs to do the laundry, I'm a Faunus, we still need to plan- oh, you wanted me to repeat something? I can't believe you would forget so quickly about the English homework)? Still, good luck as always!

 **Sun has the same position as Adam used to have, as a sort of regional leader. And Weiss considers her faunus heritage a secret, because if people figured out she is half-human, half-faunus, she risks being ostracized by both races.  
**

 **NevTSC**

love what you have done and I will love to see more of this! I have a feeling Whiterose may be mentioned in this fic? anyways make what you want and keep coming out with the awesome work.

 **Thanks! It's a blast writing this.  
**

 **Also, to answer your question:**

 **maaaaaayyyyyyybbeeeeeee...**

 **MageTBG**

The FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU?

What da flip?  
Imma sorry but this makes no sense at all I'm confused.

 **This whole fic is a !Swap! au (alternate universe) where specific characters swap roles and personalities with another character in the story. For example, Yang swapped with Ruby, meaning she takes over as the main protagonist and is a huge weapons geek, as well as the leader of the team.**

 **That doesn't mean, however, that I'm just copy-pasting the whole script while swapping the names.**

 **Only certain aspects of characters are swapped, not their whole personalities. Yang may be a weapons geek like Ruby, but she is still the older sister, and acts like such for Ruby, who now acts like Yang.**

 **It might make more sense the more you read, but it's mostly just a silly thing that I thought would be fun to read and write :)**

 **zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**

 **Now, time for the announcement! I've decided to start a new project!**

 **It hasn't been released yet (Or even started yet, for that matter) but I'm going to start writing chapters of it alongside RWBY: SWAP.**

 **I'll give yoU a hint as To whAt it might be...**

 **YoU''''llll neVer SeE it Com-+====++++**

 **#$_+( &%&^%^&^&*&*(**

 **10000101110101010101111000**

 **...**

 _Hello! The guy from before was taking too long, so we decided to skip to the good part.  
_

 _We've been reading this thing, and saw quite a few nice people in the comments, so we thought, "Why not make our debut here?"_

 _We're not here to terrorize anyone._

 _We're not here to steal from any of you._

 _We're not even here to steal the greatest treasures held by the corrupt adults of the world._

 _Were here for only one thing._

 _To steal their hearts._

~ _Love_

 _Ymous Anon, Leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts~  
_


	15. Paralogue 5: Life of Lie

**Paralogue 5: Life of Lie**

"Ren, come on! Arc made waffles!"

Ren snorted, being waked from his otherwise light sleep. He rose from his bed, and took a few moments to gain his bearings.

The voice... belonged to Nora. She had called to him from the hallway. He looked around to see that each bed was left empty, and no one else was in the room.

He checked the time on his clock... 9:17?!

' _Did I really sleep in that late..? Thank the gods it's a weekend... Even so, I probably shouldn't have stayed up so late playing Pokemon...'_

He contemplates that thought for a moment.

 _'No, catching Entei was completely worth it.'_

He gets out of bed and pulls his casual clothes out of the drawer: His tried and true combo, the Strawberry Sloth hoodie and blue jeans. He begins to undress-

The door swings open.

"Ren! Are you even awake ye-"

The room goes silent as the scene plays out- Nora in the doorway, and Ren standing in the middle of the room, caught in nothing but his boxer shorts.

They both start blushing profusely, but Ren speaks first. "N-Nora?!" He yells, his voice cracking slightly as he tries to cover himself.

"Sorry!" She screams, running out of the room and slamming the door closed.

After a moment, Ren sighs and continues to put on his clothes. It wasn't like this hasn't happened before... They all live in a singular space after all, and it was bound to happen again, eventually.

He finally gets dressed and walks out of the room, where Nora was waiting beside the door. She was still blushing.

"O-Oh! Hey." She stutters, not knowing what else to say.

"... So Arc made waffles?" He asks quietly, trying to get away from the previous situation.

"Yep." She quickly confirms.

"We should get down there before it gets cold."

"Good idea."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In the school cafeteria, Team JNPR were sitting down, eating their waffles, Ren and Nora were staying silent for the most part.

Wasn't hard for Arc and Pyrrha to notice.

They both knew exactly what had happened from hearing Nora's scream upstairs, and their silence at the table. The couple had gone through the same situation hundreds of times already, and were at the point in their relationship where they really didn't mind the other seeing them in... less than full clothing.

Their experience on the matter led them to try and defuse the tension between Ren and Nora. They just had different... philosophies on how to break the ice.

Arc was all for staying quiet on the matter and letting it blow over as the day went on.

Pyrrha, however...

"So was he completely naked or in his underwear?"

Nora spits out the milk she was drinking, while Ren nearly chokes to death on a bite of waffle.

Arc just pinched the bridge of his nose, having known Pyrrha for too long to really be surprised.

"PYRRHA!" Nora screams, the blush from earlier returning in full force, if not even more so than before. Meanwhile, Ren was still choking on his waffle.

Pyrrha looked between the two in confusion. "What? I was just curious." She says innocently, oblivious to her own... eccentricities.

Ren finally manages to cough out the solid piece of carb from his throat and regain his breath. " _Hack!-_ N-No- _Cough!-_ kidding!" He barely gets out.

Nora suddenly stands up. "I-I-I gotta go! Later!" She says, sprinting out of the cafeteria.

A few moments of silence followed.

Pyrrha shrugged. "Guess she isn't finishing the meal." She takes Nora's tray and starts to eat the rest. Lie looks at her with a horrified expression. "What? It'd be a waste if it was just left there!"

Again, Arc had known her for far too long to be surprised.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was the afternoon, and the situation had calmed down for the most part. (Nora still couldn't look him in the eye. Normally it wasn't this bad, but then Pyrrha happened.)

Ren was particularly bored, so he decided to do some practice swings out on the training dummies in the courtyard. He slashed at the semi-plastic, semi-metal, overly-fancy and technologically advanced punching bags without really attempting any sort of technique. Each slashed bounced off the miniature force field placed around it. He was content with just passing time, it didn't hurt that it was helping him grow stronger, too.

This continued for about an hour. At the end, he felt slightly accomplished. He didn't feel too tired, so there was that.

He lets that sink in for a minute. A few months ago, he would have been exhausted from a workout like that.

 _'Guess I've actually been getting better. Maybe I AM good enough to be here!'_

This realization renews his resolve and grants him confidence as a true Huntsmen-in-training, and decides to continue his practice swings. He wouldn't improve if he didn't push himself, after all.

"Hey."

That one word stopped him in his tracks. The good mood he had managed to attain after the earlier awkwardness had soured instantly. Venom and resentment instantly started to wallow up inside of him and contort his expression as he recognized the voice.

He turns around to see none other than Coco Adel, standing there with her arms at her sides, holding her handbag.

There was silence as Ren sized her up. She didn't really do anything, she just stood there, otherwise indecisive. The mere sight of her had Ren furious. Normally he wouldn't be extraordinarily upset at her presence, since they have to see each other all the time during class and in the hallways...

But this was different. She was actively trying to get his attention.

 _'As if she has the right to speak to me after what she's done.'_ He thinks bitterly. He opens his mouth to speak, but shuts it closed just as fast.

 _'No. I'm not going to say anything. She doesn't deserve any words.'_

Her continued silence annoyed him, so he turns his attention back to the training dummy. He gets in one good slice before he's interrupted again.

"Wanna spar?"

The question caught him completely off guard. He messes up his swing and completely misses the dummy, even as it lay still. He stood frozen not sure how to answer her question.

He turns to face her once more, ever so slightly surprised to see that she wasn't looking him in the eye. He was about to ask, but lost interest a moment later. It didn't really matter to him.

A part of him was telling him to refuse her, to get away from her by any means possible.

But...

There was another part of him- a louder part of him, that was yelling at him to accept her challenge. To prove to her that he DID improve.

He wanted to get away from her, but at the same time...

He wanted to show her up even more.

He walked into the middle of the courtyard, his knives still drawn, and silently takes a combat position. That was his way of challenging her.

Her eyes widen slightly, in surprise. She didn't really expect him to accept, honestly. She grips her handbag and walks to the center of the courtyard with him, only a few yards separating the two of them.

Lie charged with an animosity he never knew he had, and the match begun.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was a lopsided match.

Despite Ren's recent improvements, he wasn't able to overcome Coco's many more years of experience and training. He lay on the ground, battered and exhausted.

He felt like he was burning. Not just from the exhaustion from his muscles, but from the shame of losing to her a second time. He wanted to leave, but his body just wouldn't move.

He eventually rolls to his side, and begins to lift himself up. He raises his gaze to see Coco offering her hand to him. This was the third time today she has surprised and infuriated him.

He smacks her hand away from himself and successfully rises to his feet on his own. He stares at Coco with a silent, but sharp and hostile glare. Her hand returns to her side.

She doesn't move, but she doesn't seem at all mad or frustrated at Ren. She just... stands there, not knowing what to say.

It came to her, after a moment.

"... That was pretty good. You're getting better."

With that, Coco left Lie to his own company.

He watched as Coco left, pondering what to do now. He decided to return to the team dorm, it was getting late, anyways.

As he was walking back, he realized something that left a bitter taste in his mouth. He never said anything, just like he promised himself. But instead of making him feel tough, or somehow satisfied, it just made him feel...

Childish... and ashamed.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was evening, and most of Team JNPR were in their dorm. Only Pyrrha wasn't there, apparently she was still whacking away the training dummies.

 _'Wonder why I never saw her? Maybe she got there as I was leaving.'_ He ponders before returning his attention back to his 3DS. He decided to play Pokemon Sun, today.

Arc was wearing pajama pants, forgoing any sort of shirt as he went on polishing his full suit of armor. He sat on the floor, as to not get any polish on his sheets.

Finally, Nora was on her bed, quietly enjoying a novel her parents sent her in the mail shortly after she arrived in Beacon.

Everyone sat around in comfortable silence, enjoying their individual interests.

The door to their room opened, and Pyrrha walked in. She quickly flashed a smile and waved to everyone. "Hello!" She turned the simply greeting into a catch-phrase, which everyone rolled with.

"Hey, Pyrrha." Ren says, still focused on his game.

"Hi!" Nora says, diverting her attention from her book for a quick second.

Arc doesn't say anything, he just turns his head to smile with her as she sits down next to him.

"You're polishing that armor again..?" She asks, slightly exasperated.

"I wear it all the time, so it gets worn out quickly." He reasons casually.

They continued to bicker playfully for a minute, until Pyrrha remembers something. "Oh! Hey, Ren!"

He looks up from his 3DS. "Yes?"

"Salem wants you. She said to come to her office."

Both Ren and Nora feel a chill go down their spines.

"Ren, should I..?" She was about to ask.

"No, it's fine. I'll just head down there myself. See you guys later." He says calmly, having prepared himself for this moment, if it ever would have occurred.

He walks out the door, closing it behind him. He looks around, trying to find the closest elevator. He eventually finds it, and he moves his hand to press the 'Up' button, but his hand hangs there.

He was afraid. He was afraid Salem had figured out about his forged transcripts. If she did, then he could kiss his chance at Beacon goodbye. He would have to leave everyone behind...

Yang...

Arc...

Pyrrha...

Nor-

He stops himself there. He couldn't consider that possibility right now.

He takes a deep breath, and musters whatever strength he had left after the exhausting day he had gone through, and pushes the button. Quietness, but not silence, invaded his mind. All he could process was the clicking and whirling of the mechanisms of the elevator, as they slowly grew louder towards him. The sounds faded, and stopped.

 _Ding!_

The elevator opened for him, and he stepped inside.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 _Ding!_

The elevator opened once more, revealing Salem's office to Lie. He stepped inside, and the elevator door closed behind him.

The room was nice enough. A few paintings and novelties were strewn about. Several nice-looking chairs were lined around a circular table. Behind that stood a desk, where Lie assumed Salem was. He had to assume that, because a large, nearly opaque, holographic computer screen hung in front of the desk, obscuring anything behind the desk.

"Headmistress Salem?" He calls out, looking for (or rather, hoping against) a response.

"Hmm?" A large tuft of braided, pure white hair poked out from the side of the screen, looking for the voice. She quickly locates Ren in front of the elevator.

"Ah, Lie Ren. Thank you for coming up here at such a late hour. I would have preferred to call you in earlier today, but I had... business to attend to." She explains, having the interest of her students at heart.

"It's fine, Headmistress."

Salem motions for him to take a seat at the circular table. As he takes a seat, she leaves her desk to sit at the opposite seat to him.

"What did you call me down for?" Ren asks carefully.

"Oh, I think you know the reason, Mr. Ren." She states sternly, but not harshly.

LRenwas silent. His worst fears had come to fruition.

"My question, is if you'd rather admit it and have this meeting be easier for all those involved, or need I have to get the papers?" She asks patiently, her hands locked together.

"Let's just get this over with." He says quickly, unable to meet her gaze.

Salem stays silent for a moment. "... Very well. Lie Ren, can you tell me what I have called you here for?"

Ren nods. "I... have forged my transcripts to gain entry into Beacon Academy." He says with difficulty.

Salem nods. "Yes. Now, are there any others here who knew of this?"

Ren sat in silence, unable to answer that question.

"Mr. Ren?"

"No." He answers calmly. "No one knew about my illegal entry into the academy."

Salem stares at him intensely, trying to get into his head. "So no one knew of about your fake transcripts? Are you sure that's your answer?" She asks patiently.

"Yes." He said without regret.

Salem continued to stare at him, trying to dissect his motives. After a moment, she gives a coy smile.

"You're a good liar, Lie Ren. Though I suppose that's not something I should be praising." This confused him _a lot_.

"Tell me. Should you graduate from this academy, what career would you pursue?" She asked curiously.

"If I graduate? Aren't I-"

"Please answer the question, Mr. Ren."

He is taken aback by this. Wasn't he about to be expelled? "Well... I'd become a Huntsman, of course." He explains simply.

"And you know what a Huntsman does, correct?"

"They fight the battles others can't fight for themselves." He explains without hesitation.

"Exactly." Salem confirms, pleased with his answers thus far.

Ren shakes his heads. "I don't mean any offense, Headmistress, but what is the point of this? Aren't I going to be expelled?" He asks, extremely confused with the situation.

"You might have been, if you had answered wrong... But you're heart seems to be in the right place. You're grades, both combat and educational, are passing. You seem to be on good relations with both the student body and faculty. You haven't been called out on any sort of cheating, either. For someone who hasn't been to combat school before, you've been doing an admirable job of keeping up with your peers." She explains, impressed with the teen.

"Furthermore, despite others knowing about your situation, you chose to keep them anonymous, and have the only blame be put on yourself. I knew I had a good feeling about you when I appointed you leader." She finishes, leaning back in her chair.

Ren was in complete shock and confusion at the turn of events. He was expecting harsh words and expulsion, but he was being... complimented?

"Wait, so... Wait." He starts, unable to think coherently in that moment. "So... how did you figure out that I forged the transcripts?" He asks, an idea dawning on him.

 _'Did Coco tell her?'_

"Oh, I knew it as soon as I looked through it."

That was another thing Ren wasn't expecting.

"I've been around long enough to catch little details like that. You'd be surprised at how many fake transcripts I get each year."

"T-Then why did you let me into Beacon? Shouldn't you have just rejected me?" He says, bringing up a valid point.

Salem takes off her glasses and cleans them off with a tissue. "Funny thing is, if someone goes to the lengths of forging illegal documents to enter an academy designed to train them in an occupation that will risk their lives every day fighting- what are essentially- nightmares given form, they tend to be fairly genuine about upholding the code of a Huntsman." She points out, putting her glasses back on.

"So: As long as you uphold those ideals, and continue to improve yourself so that one day, you can stand alongside other Huntsmen and protect human-and-faunus-kind, you may stay at this academy." She offers, allowing him a moment to collect himself.

"You mean... I won't have to say goodbye?" He asks quietly, not daring to believe all of this. It had to be a dream, right?

Salem offers a small, reassuring smile. "No, Mr. Ren. You won't have to say goodbye for a while yet."

Ren suddenly jumps to his feet, and gives a respectful bow. "Thank you so much, Headmistress Salem! I promise I'll become the greatest Huntsman I can possibly be! You won't regret your decision!" He says ecstatically. He was forgiven!

Salem raises her hand. "Thank me once you've graduated. That will be undeniable proof my decision was correct, yes? Now, I needn't take up any more of your time tonight. You are dismissed."

Ren breaths a sigh of relief. He wasn't getting expelled after all... "Yes, Headmistress... Goodnight." He says politely, before exiting the room through the elevator.

After he leaves, she returns to her desk, and examines the screen in front of her.

 **RAVEN – CONNECTION LOST**

She sighs, and holds her head.

 _'The next generation of Huntsmen can't come any faster...'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Ren gets back to his dorm and enters. Everyone was preparing for bed. They all look to him as he entered, but only Nora knew the weight of the situation.

"So, what did Salem want?" Arc asked, having put on a shirt after having taken a shower to clean the polish off of himself.

"Someone got in trouble..!" Pyrrha teases, not knowing how close she was to the truth.

Nora was as white as a sheet, praying he hadn't been caught.

"Come now, it wasn't anything serious. I'm a model student, if you hadn't noticed." He says sarcastically as he made his way to his bed. "Besides, she was just asking about an assignment I had forgot to turn in." He says without missing a beat.

He sits down on his bed, and takes off his shoes. Nora quickly sits down next to him and leans close to his ear. "Did she ask about..?" She whispers to him, worriedly.

"Yeah, but it's okay. I'm not going anywhere." He reassures, much to Nora's surprise.

"Really?!" She gasps. "She just... let it slide?!" She grabs his arm, elated at the news.

"Yes. So long as I keep the pace of those expected from the other students, I will graduate with everyone else." He says, beaming with pride and hope.

"That's great!" Nora cheers, throwing her arms into the air.

On the other side of the room, Arc and Pyrrha watched them with interest.

Pyrrha leaned towards Arc while still looking at the two. "So, when do you think they'll get together?"

"Still gonna be a few more months at least. Maybe after the Vytal Festival." He theorizes. To Pyrrha, this was heresy.

"No way! It'll happen within the next few weeks, I'll bet five lien on it!" She say, crossing her arms.

"Keep the five lien, 'cause I've already won." He says confidently.

"Oh, you're so on!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: This chapter was something I've been looking forward to for a long time! This is pretty much what the paralogues are meant to be: side stories that don't really have an impact on the plot, but are nice to read and write. Before I do the next season, I plan on dedicating a chapter to each of Team JNPR. Jaune's chapter is next.**

 **Also, I mentioned how I would start releasing chapters of my new fic alongside RWBY SWAP, but I have a question:**

 **Would you guys like for me to post an excerpt from the new fic into the Author's Notes of the next chapter? It might help to see whether or not you guys would actually be interested in it.**

 **Until then, let's respond to some reviews!**

 **Royal2**

Yeah team RWBY together again and don't worry about it being long take as long as you need.

 **Thanks! I'll try not to push myself too hard.**

 **merendinoemiliano**

Awesome chapter and fight, i can't wait to see next work.

 **Thanks, I really hope you guys will like it! It's going to be a crossover with RWBY and a video game I've been playing a lot of recently. It's called Persona 5.**

 **Bomberguy789**

So the new fic is of thieves stealing stuff and gaining general public approval, like a Robin Hood type except they never really get onto the part where they give money to the poor (and instead just steal from the rich and/or cruel with enough flair and wit to become popular)?

Anyway, this chapter. It's definitely cool to see the changes to Adam and his team, and the fight scene with Fennec was cool too. I'm also interested in how Junior isn't a superior fighter in the same way Roman was. The way I mean this, is that Roman could take on Weiss and Sun easily, or at least without leaving the outcome in doubt (I would like to add that the V2 train loss was because he NEEDED to get captured). But in this, Junior as a fighter generally sucks. The problem is his aura levels, and the general destructiveness of his weapon. That's a change I can get behind. I do kind of wish we had seen more of Blake's thought process, as she went from hating/being indecisive of Weiss to being okay with her, but oh well. Solid work!

Oh, and Snow Angel was Jaune's nickname for Weiss. That's... pretty much it. I'm sure it's probably also a story title too.

 **You... pretty much hit the nail on the head! XD The only thing you missed is a plot point associated with the video game it's in(Persona 5), which you couldn't have known about anyways.**

 **I also agree how Blake should have had more time and focus to appear more genuine, but I was pretty much pooped at the end of it. It was such a long chapter, and I had hit a slump at that point, as well.**

 **Thank you for the insightful comment! It's great seeing comments like this because it really helps me connect with you guys and helps me become better as a writer. Again, thank you.**


	16. Paralogue 6: What's In A Name?

**Paralogue 6: What's in a Name?**

Jaune saw fire.

Fire, everywhere.

 _'Daddy, where's Mommy?!'_

 _'She... She's waiting with everyone else! You're sisters, too! We just have to hurry!'_

 _'Jaune! Dear! What are you still doing here?!'_

 _'Eveline?! Hurry!'_

 _'Mommy! Sis!'_

 _'Brother!'_

At that moment, the walls of fire crashed down around him.

And with it, his world.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"NO!"

Arc bolted up in his bed, surrounded by the dark of the night. His breathing was erratic as he was trying to differentiate dream from reality. Though in his case, it was more like trying to differentiate past from present.

He held his head, trying not to freak out right there. He slowly curled into a fetus position, trying to hide from the world. His heart refused to slow, convinced he was about to die. He was paralyzed in his position, the adrenaline in his system preventing him from moving.

His scream woke the rest of Team JNPR from their sleep, everyone knowing instantly what happened. Each had jumped out of their beds, with Pyrrha practically leaping out of her bed to Arc's side. She climbed on top of his bed and sat at his side, quickly and silently embracing him. She gazed at his stricken expression, monitoring him to see where he was at in the 'process'.

It wasn't an unusual occurrence, unfortunately. This was the third time Arc had to relive that terrible moment of his life since they had come to Beacon. The team had created a routine of sorts for these incidents.

Ren and Nora quickly exited the room, and headed down for the cafeteria for some water, as well as to give the two some privacy. Pyrrha simply continued to comfort her lover, holding him close as his mind began to process his grief, and his heart began to slow.

About ten minutes passed, and Arc's body uncurled from it's twisted position. His legs slowly slide down the bed as his hands drop from his head, and to his sides. His breathing returns to normal as the adrenaline leaves his system.

"Are you alright?" Pyrrha asks quietly, not letting go of him.

Arc let's out a shaky breath, and nods. "... Yeah. It's over." He whispers, before returning the embrace. "Thanks."

Pyrrha closes her eyes. "Of course."

The two sat on the bed in silence, enjoying the safety of each other's warmth. The door cracked open as Ren and Nora carefully entered the dorm. Nora carried a water bottle in her hand, and held it for Arc to take. He slowly, carefully reached out and took the bottle. He uncapped it and took a long drink from the plastic vessel. He could feel the cool liquid slide down his throat and flow throughout his system, calming his nerves.

"Thanks." He says again, putting the bottle on the drawer.

Nora gives a quick nod before her and Ren go back to their respective beds. Pyrrha didn't move from her position, looking perfectly comfortable as is. "Do you want me to stay?" She whispers, in a low enough voice to where Nora and Ren can't hear.

"Please." He answers without hesitation. Pyrrha nods, and slides into the covers next to him, wrapping her arms around him. He rolls to turn towards her and does the same.

Soon, Arc's lingering fears melt away, and the comfort of sleep welcomes the two once more.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was midday, and Arc was sitting in the locker room, equipping his armor in preparation for a trip into the city. It was a full plate-armor suit, covering him from his chest to his feet. It wasn't overly bulky, and was in fact rather form-fitting.

Once he had finished putting on his armor he left the locker room, where Ren waited outside. They began to walk down to the landing pads, where airships would drop them off at the city. As they walked down, Ren continued to glance at Arc oddly, much to the latter's annoyance.

"Alright, if you have something to say, just spit it out." He says sharply, having been in a bad mood since the night before.

"S-Sorry. I've just been wondering for a while... you can just wear ordinary clothes while in the city, correct? Why do you instead wear that suit of armor? Isn't it uncomfortable?" He asks, his fashion senses having been on red alert every time Arc wore that armor outside the academy.

Arc just shrugs. "Actually, it's pretty comfy. It's one of the things I had in mind while forging it." He explains casually.

"You forged that whole suit? I thought the school provided it to you." Arc asks, impressed with his teammate.

"Yeah, my dad taught me how to smith a while back. It's pretty much the family trade." He says with nostalgia, reminiscing on the first sword he ever forged...

"Impressive. Did you forge that crest, as well?" He asks innocently, pointing to Arc's hip, where a metal circle hung by a string to his side.

Arc looks down where it hung, and smiles. "Yeah. It's the family crest." He answered quietly, yet proudly. It was a hollowed out ring of metal about two inches in diameter. In the opening a plus mark stretched out to each end of the ring, dividing the circle into four equal sections. It wasn't an impressive object, but it carried an honor with it.

The two began their path down to the landing pads. They stayed mostly silent as they walked down, the two not in a very talkative mood. Eventually, though, Ren realized he had something to ask.

"Smithing... The art has always fascinated me. I could potentially incorporate it with my sewing... Would you mind terribly if you taught me a few things?" Ren asks, trying to connect with his teammate.

"Forging armor and weapons is way different than making clothes." Arc states simply, still looking forward. After a moment, he turns towards Ren and smiles. "But I'd be happy to show you what I know."

Ren grins and nods. "Thank you."

They realized they reached the landing pads, where Pyrrha and Nora waited. "Where were you guys?! Hurry over here already!" Pyrrha calls out to them while waving.

"We're fashionably late!" Ren calls back to them playfully, as the two groups merged. They hopped into the airship and entered the city, having a day of fun and relaxation planned ahead.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In one of the back alleys of Vale, a woman slept. She had wrapped herself in a cloth cloak, wearing a simple shirt and sweatpants underneath. Her "bed" was little more than patches of cloth stuck together around wads of paper and packing peanuts. With the sun unable to break through the walls of houses around her, she slept uninterrupted until nearly noon.

At that time, she slowly was roused from her sleep as the bustling sounds of the city and the piercing sunlight struck her senses. She rises from her bundle and yawns while stretching. As her yawn ended, she scratched an itch on the top of her head and rises to her feet.

She walks out of the dark alley, and begins her route through the many streets of Vale, looking for any fool that looked away from their wallets. She quickly checked her person, and confirms the trusty knife she kept on her hip. With the only tool she needed with her, she began the daily grind...

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The day was a bust. The only money she was able to steal was the money she barely swiped off the counter of a street-side fruit stand. The person had put down the money for payment, and by some crazy happenstance, the two had both looked away from the money for a moment. In that split second, she slid the money off of the counter and pocketed it inside her cloak.

A skilled theft, and one she herself was proud of, but not enough for a good meal. She looks to the sky, and it was starting to turn a vibrant orange. She sighs, and starts thinking of alternatives.

 _'The orphanage has plenty of fo-'_

She didn't even let herself finish the thought.

 _'I'll never go back there. Besides, I turned 22 months ago, they wouldn't let me back in anyways...'_

As she sat on her bed of scraps, she heard the sounds of laughter echoing from outside the alley. Her curiosity piqued, she made her way to the end of the alley, and poked her head around the corner, looking for the source of the noise.

From her hidden position, she sees a group of four teenagers walking along the road, their backs turned to her. They all seemed to be dressed in rather expensive clothing, and were all relatively muscular. One was dressed in full battle armor, confusingly enough, with a hood attached to the neckline of the suit, obscuring the back of one of the teens' heads.

The strange clothing and relative youth of the group... They had to be from Beacon. Dollar signs could almost be seen around the girl as her mind was screaming _'Jackpot!'_ She ran her eyes along each of the teens, looking for anything of value.

Her enthusiasm quickly melted away as she failed to spot anything worth stealing. The little money they had brought had already been spent, it would seem. She was about to return to her hide-away, before a quick flash of metal caught her attention. She focused her eyes on the armored student, at his side a piece of metal hung by a string.

 _'It's... a circle? What pattern-'_

Her head stops functioning normally as she realizes what symbol it was. Rage fills her being, beyond disgusted someone else would wear that symbol after the massacre.

She didn't care how the student had acquired the emblem, whether it be through looting, or had made it without knowing it was her crest. Maybe they even bought it as a souvenir somewhere. Either way, she wouldn't let anyone else be allowed to wear it.

Her logic silent next to her rage, she made her move.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The four walk down the many streets of Vale in joyous laughter, the sun setting on an enjoyable day.

"I still can't believe you tried hitting on that waitress!" Arc exclaims to Ren, who was laughing bashfully with them. "She had to be, like, twenty!"

"I was acting the part of a gentleman." Ren insists. "She was a beautiful woman, I couldn't help myself."

Pyrrha was grinning widely. "You struck out _hard._ Are you sure you don't need ointment for that burn she gave you?" She teases.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ren says, rolling his eyes.

Nora pats him on the back. "Don't worry about it. Your smooth moves will work one of these days, you just gotta find the right girl." She says hopefully.

Ren gives smile. "Yes, I suppose you're right... In that case, to the next cafe!" He says triumphantly.

The others' laughter renews in force, Ren's idea having caught them completely off guard.

"W-We're not going past curfew just to let you flirt with more girls!" Pyrrha says, wiping a tear from her eye.

Nora puts a hand on Ren's shoulder. "Practice is nice, but maybe you should call it a day."

Ren nods. "Understood. I suppose the world can only handle so much of me at a time."

Arc chuckles, watching the antics of the other three JNPR members. As he turns his gaze forward, he felt someone poke his head. "Why are you still wearing that hoodie on your armor? It's bright as can be outside!" Nora asks while motioning to the sky.

He gives a shy shrug. "Keeps the sun out of my eyes." He answers simply, annoyed that he forgot his sunglasses. He couldn't wrap it around his head why the sun wasn't bothering them...

He was smiling on their way to the landing pads. The sun shown a brilliant, fiery hue throughout the sky, painting everything gold.

For a moment, he saw fire.

The smile dropped from his face, although that was the only visible mark that anything was wrong. He sighed, disappointed his mind had to be a downer now of all times. Why did it have to come back and bite him at the worst possible times?

His father...

His mother...

 _'and seven sisters.'_ He counts off, the thought still tearing at him. Could anyone really move on from something like that?

"You alright?"

The question brought him out of his head, and he turns his attention to Pyrrha. He gives a small, reassuring nod. "Yeah. Thanks for this, I know you set this up 'cause of last night." He says gratefully.

Pyrrha smiles and wraps her arm around his side, pulling him into a sideways hug. "Of course." She says simply, lovingly.

Arc returns the gesture, and they continue to walk down the streets of Vale, Ren and Nora quietly walking in front of them.

It was turning out to be a great day. Good weather, they all had fun, it felt like nothing could-

 _Snip!_

Arc's reaction was instant. His mind screamed to catch the pickpocket who had took off with his emblem. Watching over the emblem had become the most basic of instinctive reflexes for him, and his mind didn't fail to react to the weight suddenly lifted from his hip.

Instead, his body was unable to catch up. The thief had swiped the string at his side, caught the emblem, and immediately started to run in the opposite direction of them.

He swings backwards, trying to grab her as she dashed off. His fingertips brush against the end of her cloak, but nothing more. They both take off like a bullet, with Nora, Ren, and Pyrrha barely keeping up.

Arc furiously sprinted after her, the both of them running at the same speed, unable to change the distance between them. With no one around, and no good shortcuts or hiding spots to take advantage of, the thief was forced to run down the lengths of the streets and hope she could create distance between the two.

"GET BACK HERE!" Arc screamed, the words carrying an almost savage intent. Chilled, the thief looks behind her, and is almost horrified by the determined Beacon student barreling towards her.

"Why... What's... Going on..?!" Ren yells between breathes.

"Don't know, but we need to catch her!" Pyrrha yells back, a few feet in front of him.

She turns her eyes back in front of her, only to have black obscure her vision. She ran into what felt like a brick wall, and fell back onto the pavement. The emblem flew out of her hand, and rolled about four feet away from her.

"Hey, watch it!" A gruff voice said. She looked up to see a tall teenager wearing a grey turtleneck with blue jeans. He had almond hair cut into a buzz cut. The thief was stunned for a moment, her mind having gone blank at the sudden change of speed and position. Her senses return and she jolts her head in the direction of the emblem. It lay flat on the ground, shining in the setting sun. She quickly rises from the ground and dashes towards the emblem.

Her speed proves fruitless, as Arc quickly runs forward and presses the emblem into the ground with his foot. The thief stops in her tracks as she tries to calculate her next move. With the armored kid and his friends in front, and the other behind her, there wasn't anywhere to run...

"Uhhhhh... Hey, Arc? What's going on?" The stout student asked, looking very confused.

The thief looks back at the singular student, raising an eyebrow. "How do you know my-"

Everything clicked in her head as she looks back at the student she had stolen from. He was picking up the emblem from the ground. As if in slow motion, he rose his head to look back at the student and herself. His hood had flung off during the chase to reveal shining gold hair and piercing blue eyes.

Just like her own.

She stood in shocked silence, unable to comprehend the reality that has been given to her. She simply stared at him, worried that if she looked away for even a moment, he'd just disappear into thin air.

He shot her a sharp glare, otherwise refusing to acknowledge her as he addressed the student. "Don't worry about it, Cardin. Just a... misunderstanding." He says with disdain as he walks away, the team turning to follow him. As he walked away, something began to bother him. _'Her voice... Why does it sound familiar? It's giving me a headache...'_

This knocked her out of her stupor, and she rushes towards the student she had once tried to steal from. "Wait!"

Arc turns on the spot to confront the thief. "What now?!" He nearly yells, his face contorted with rage.

She stops in front of him, no longer afraid of his demeanor. "I... I have a question." She says slowly, hoping beyond hope she was correct in her assumption.

Arc just looked annoyed at this point. "Why the hell should I answer your question after you-"

"Are you Jaune Arc?"

Arc froze, trying to comprehend the meaning of those words. No logical reason came to mind as he tried to piece together this mystery. "How... do you know my name?" He asks, his previous anger melting away as an idea comes to mind.

Nothing he could think of was logical, but when he considered the realm of impossibilities a crazy idea entered his head. One he would never consider lest he devolve into denial.

He stared at her features from under her hood. She had golden hair... and blue eyes...

Perhaps he wasn't the last Arc, after all.

The girl beholds him for a moment, unable to believe her eyes. "So it is you... you're... you're..." She's unable to finish her sentence as she chokes on her tears. She quickly embraces him, refusing to let him go again.

Arc's left stunned, unable to move as the impossible starts to become reality. "Wait, wait... S... aph... ron?"

The world goes silent as the two siblings find each other once more. The others stood in complete shock at the impossible reunion.

Arc was completely paralyzed, his arms hanging at his sides as Saphron embraced him. "Saphron... Is it really... you? I'm not dreaming?"

The question was left in the air, her presence it's own answer. Slowly, Arc began to realize it wasn't simply a dream. He wrapped his arms around his sister, firmly joining her embrace as he felt his face grow hot and equally hot tears falling from him but moments later.

"I... I... thought you... how..?" Saphron is unable to finish her question, her mind opting to relish in the moment.

The moment the two siblings had come back to the world of the living.

"Saphron!"

A second familiar voice grabbed her attention. She looked up from his shoulder to see a crimson-haired woman running towards her. One whom she knows well.

"Pyrrha..! You, too!" She cries as Pyrrha practically leaps into a group hug. The three stand there, content and jubilant in each other's presence, each having regained not only a loved one, but a part of themselves.

Arc was glad he flew to the city that day.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The sun had set over Vale, and the group had returned to Beacon for the night. Arc, Pyrrha, and Saphron had gone back to the dorm to catch up on everything that had happened between them for the past few years.

Ren and Nora had left them alone, opting to walk around campus to give them all privacy.

"Saphron... I never thought something like this would happen." Ren states rather obviously, unsure how to put his feelings into words.

"Well, yeah... I don't think anyone could really consider something like that even possible. What do you do from here?" Nora asks, looking up at the ceiling.

Ren shrugs. "I wouldn't know. I really haven't felt any form of grief before, let alone having someone close to me turn up alive when I thought otherwise. It truly is a miracle..." He says in wonder, overjoyed for his friend.

"I know, right? I feel so happy for all of them." She says. After a moment, a concern grows in her mind. "Hey, you know where she's going to be sleeping?"

Ren thinks on it for a moment. "... I think I heard that she will be sleeping in our dorm for the next few days. One of us will have to sleep on the couch."

Nora raises an eyebrow. "But we don't have a couch."

Ren walks in silence for a moment. "... Huh. You're right."

Nora looks at him funny. "Did you think we have a couch?!"

"No, no. It just... feels like we should have one, you know?" Ren asks.

"What? No, we've never had a couch or even talked about getting one. You feeling alright?" She asks, starting to get genuinely concerned for his mental health.

"I don't know! I might be watching too much television." He surmises, deciding to take a break from his sitcoms...

"Anyways, Arc and Pyrrha already sleep together sometimes, right? They might just do that." Nora points out.

The two reach the door to the dorm, and Nora hesitates for a second. "You think we've given 'em enough time?"

Ren nods. "It's almost half-past-eleven. We'll just knock on the door to check-"

 _Wham!_

"Guh!"

Ren was smacked aside as the door swung out in front of him, bashing him in the face and throwing him to the ground.

"Gaaaaaaawwwww..." He moans, clutching his face. Aura wasn't quite 'second nature' yet.

Nora's ears were filled with the sounds of yelling once she saw Saphron in the doorway. "You're yelling that I didn't stay at the orphanage when you didn't either?! You're such a hypocrite!"

Arc's response could be heard from well outside the room. "Don't give me that, our circumstances was different!"

"Like hell they were! I did what I had to to survive and have at least a smidge of freedom with it!"

"And that means being a pickpocket?!"

"Oh screw you, you selfish idiot!"

"Piece of crap!"

"Imbecile!"

"Moron!"

 _Slam!_

Saphron slams the door behind her so hard it bounces back open, revealing the room to Ren and Nora. Arc sat on his bed, holding his head in his hands. Pyrrha sat a few feet away, her face white as a sheet and her gaze was pointed at the wall.

Nora slowly walked into the room as Ren was still reeling from his 'injury'. She stood a few feet in front of the doorway, looking back and forth between Arc and the path Saphron had stormed off on. "... Soooooooo it's almost midnight, and we were wondering what the sleeping situation was..." Nora says slowly.

"She'll sleep in Pyrrha's bed. Me and Pyrrha will share a bed." He says quickly, not looking up. "And Saph will probably be back in a few minutes."

Nora nods before walking over to her bed and sitting down. Soon, Ren walked into the room and sat down on his bed, clutching his nose.

"Sho... Can we ashk wha happened?" Ren asked, still pinching his nose.

Arc sighs, obviously not happy with how things turned out. "We were explaining everything that happened since we got separated and... we disagreed on a few things."

"You guys are arguing already? Is that normal?" Nora asks, concerned. _'They haven't seen each other in so many years... Shouldn't they be happy?'_

"They used to argue a lot, even before now." Pyrrha explains, color returning to her face.

"Yeah. We used to argue for HOURS about the stupidest things. Like what was the coolest superhero, or which one of us was the best at math..." His tone had changed with these next few words.

"But then, we'd get ice cream the day after the argument. She would get chocolate-mint, and I'd get chocolate chip." He reminisces fondly.

"Then we'd go watch whatever movie was on TV, and whenever a Spruce Willis movie was on, we'd argue which was best: The second or the third movie." He begins to chuckle towards the end of that sentence, puzzling the other teammates.

"But to be honest... They were both pretty bad! Hahahaha!" He bursts out laughing, finally raising his head to show his overjoyed expression as he laughed his troubles away. Everyone else smiles, their fears having been put to rest.

After his laughing fit subsided, he gives a content sigh. "... And we're probably going to argue tomorrow, too."

 _'Tomorrow... That has a nice ring to it. I can't wait for tomorrow.'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: Hey, guys! I know this chapter took a really long time to make, but honestly? I think came of it was worth it. This was a really long chapter, and it wasn't based off of anything in the series proper, which means I had to make everything from scratch. The chapter was also pretty heavy, so I didn't really know have any experience in writing this subject matter.**

 **And I have two more chapters like that... help me ;_;**

 **Anyways, thank you all for your continued patience between chapters, and thanks to all of the new viewers who have checked out the story! It's insane how this story has taken off!**

 **Now... they're are a lot of reviews since the last chapter. 0_0**

 **So for this review section, I'm going to focus on a few reviews that have questions about the material, and some new reviewers. Next chapter we'll go back to full review responses.**

 **HeartOfChaos13:**

 **Hey, HeartOfChaos! I wanted to quickly say thanks for dedicating so much time to give a review for each chapter. Sorry I can't respond to them all, but I did want to say thank you , and I did read them all.**

 **And I AM considering a Chibi Swap!**

 **Asarus King:**

Hey no problem, its better to wait and get something of high quality than rush it and be it worst.

I am curios of how you are gonna handle season 2, who is gonna replace Ironwood? Lionheart could be, but I guess you are going for a different character seeing who Penny was replace with. If I am right it will really interesting to see

And regarding Adam's team I think for Sage and Scarlet you could change them with Hawk Boy and Spider Girl and Neptune with Illia and the whole dance scene still would work.

I look forward to it

 **I'll give you a hint about Ironwood: Who else has a prosthetic?**

 **And about Adam's team, it was revealed who they were in Chapter 10.**

 **CrimsonHeresy:**

I am really digging with how you are handling the swaps! I like Weiss and Adam past dealings and how Sun is still Sun. I can't wait to see more!

 **Thanks! I'm hoping to have each normal chapter be published within a week, and each side story take about two weeks.**

 **Thank you all for reading, and see you next chapter!**


	17. Paralogue 7: Goddess of Lightning

**Paralogue 7: Goddess of Lightning**

"Again!"

Nora was breathless. She had been training for four hours in the training facility built specifically for her. It was a hideous place; grey cement walls with devices lining them, meant to shoot projectiles of all nature at the young woman. On the ground lay flat projectors, meant to display holograms of enemies she would slash through.

Her instructor was relentless, forcing her to practice the same grueling drill for the last week until she had it perfectly. Apparently being able to do this while drifting off in thought wasn't perfect. The LEDs on all of the devices lit up, signalling that the drill started again.

Three disks shot out of the walls, and five holograms shot out from the ground.

 _Hop._

 _Pirouette._

 _Smack._

With these movements, she evaded the first two disks, and crushed the third. As she continued the rest of the drill, her mind wondered in spite of her fatigue, and she thought back to where it all started.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

She came from a wealthy family. If she decided to follow the family business, she'd never have to worry about expenses or making a living off of anything else. They brought in tutors to teach her economics, but she never learned anything from them. It was always so boring to her.

At home or school, she was always dispassionate. Everything was served to her on a silver platter, so it was no wonder why she took most things for granted. She didn't have many hobbies outside of reading, and all of the students at her school simply looked after their own interests, just like their parents taught them.

When she was nine, she had walked into the family living room. No one was there, so she took a seat and begun flicking through the channels. None of the cartoons caught her attention, and she couldn't stand any of the reality television that was shone.

Ironically, it was the news channel that caught her attention. She couldn't understand some of what they were saying, but they were covering a team of Huntsmen who had protected a village from a horde of Grimm. They interviewed their leader, who was a young man with golden hair, and had two over-sized gauntlets.

"Sir, what reason did you have to travel to one of the outskirt villages? They're outside of Vale's borders, so you won't receive compensation for this." The reporter asks the Huntsmen, who shrugs it off.

"They're still people, right? It's our job to protect humanity, no matter what. If we get caught up in how much we're paid, we'll just be putting a price on everyone we're helping. What kind of Huntsmen would we be then?"

Nora was inspired. For the first time in her life, she felt a fire overcome her. The kind words of the Huntsmen had ignited a passion she had never felt towards any of the crap her tutors had taught. That night she had told her parents that she wanted to become a Huntress.

They ignored her.

Usually their dissent was enough to keep her doing their bidding as a member of the Valkyrie family, but the fire in her continued to burn. She started to train herself. Every night she did push ups, sit ups, and on one occasion even tried swinging around a dumbbell like a hammer. She had applied for several sports teams without her parent's knowledge. Everyday of the week was spent doing sports and dealing with the bruises and scrapes afterwords.

Making sure her parents didn't know wasn't as hard as some would expect, but hiding that knowledge from the servants was another matter entirely. Anything they find they'd report immediately back to her parents. So everyday after practice, she'd bandage and treat any scrape, cut, or bruise she got. She learned how to apply gauze, set up a splint for a fellow teammate, and transport an injured person.

Eventually she was caught, but the reaction she received was one that surprised her.

They simply didn't care.

They didn't care so long as she paid attention in economics. So she took it in stride, and stayed the 'good girl' her parents wanted her to be, if only to one day reach her dream of becoming a Huntress.

By the time she was thirteen, she had reached a physical strength almost on par with an adult. She had attained an amount of fame from her physical exploits, excelling in every sport she tried. The proof lay in the multiple medals in soccer, track, and swimming that she had earned over the years. She had even been offered a scholarship to several colleges and combat schools due to her prowess.

Her parents didn't pay them any mind. No matter what she did, nothing could convince them to consider her future as a Huntress.

This all changed exactly one week after her birthday, when a Beowolf had sneaked into Vale.

Nora had sneaked out that night to jog after a day of strength training. She had heard the man's scream from halfway down the block. From there, she could see the jet-black fur of the Grimm. If nobody else was there he would have died since he had no way to defend himself. He had no weapons or combat experience.

Neither did Nora.

When the morning papers were published, the story of the 'Child Hero' who had fended off a Grimm with her bare hands spread through the city like wild-fire.

A news interview team had caught her one day when she was going to school. They asked her so many questions, it made her head spin. One question caught her attention, however, "What do you want to be when you grow up?"

She jumped at the question, and without thinking she answered. "I'll be a Huntress, that way I can protect even more people."

Those words became the talk of the city. The daughter of an affluent family had just saved a civilian from the Grimm, and now proclaimed her desire to become a warrior for humanity. It seemed like a modern day fairy tale.

As she walked home from practice, she was terrified. What would her parents say to that? They never supported her dream before, and with the media pressuring them how would they react?

When she came home, she had once more been surprised by her family's reaction.

They seemed overjoyed, as if they had gotten a winning lottery ticket. They suddenly started to support her decision and immediately transferred her to an elite combat school within the city. They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars creating a training facility specifically for her. They dismissed the tutors for expert training instructors. For a short while, her dreamed shined brighter than ever before. It seemed so close within her grasp, time being the only obstacle.

A few months later, she realized the only reason for their change of heart was because of her newfound fame. Nora had become a celebrity, the Valkyrie name ringing throughout every major city and tabloid magazine. Her fame only grew stronger once she discovered her Semblance, the news calling her the "Goddess of Lightning" for her rare gift.

People started to treat her differently. The other students tried to get close to her to try and steal a piece of the spotlight. Crowds of journalists would approach her and pelt her with questions about her life and upbringing. The teachers would overlook errors she had made and would give her perfect grades, which her parents would handsomely reward them for.

Her dream was within her grasp, but it became hollow.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nora was ripped from her thoughts as her body screamed it's needs. Her lungs ran out of air and her throat was completely parched. Her body felt like it was burning from the inside out. She had finally collapsed after four hours, falling to her hands and knees as she desperately tried to regain her breath.

"Get up! Do you think Beacon will accept that shabby performance?!"

Disks flew overhead and holograms fazed in and out all around her, yet she was oblivious to all of this. No breath she took seemed to enter her lungs, and her vision grew clouded...

 _"I said get up! What are you doing?!"_

The voice grew distant as Nora's senses started to numb and fade. She didn't notice the disks had stopped firing from the walls, or that the holograms all shut off. The world faded from existence as all went dark, and her consciousness left her.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 _"Nora."_

In the sea of darkness, she could barely register the voice of someone calling her. She chose to ignore it.

 _"Nora, time to get up!"_

She could now understand what they were trying to say. It was probably the instructor... She couldn't train anymore. She was just too exhausted...

 _"Nora please get up, it's time for breakfast!"_

...

Wait...

What?

Those words mystifying her, she finally starts to connect with reality, and wakes up. She slowly opens her eyes, allowing a gentle morning glow to fill her vision. She stretches under her sheets, regaining her senses and looking around her.

She was in her Beacon dorm room, the other beds in the room empty.

"Nora, I'm opening the door." The voice told her. A second later, Ren had entered the room, poking his head through the door frame to see if his partner was awake or not.

"Nora, how long have you been up? It's already eleven o-clock..." He asks, slightly exasperated. "We're all waiting for you."

"Mmmmsorry. Just woke up." She says groggily, wiping her eyes. "I'll be down in a minute."

"Okay." He responds simply, leaving and closing the door behind him.

Nora lays in bed for a moment, relaxing. After a moment, she gets up and starts getting dressed. As she does this, she starts to think on the dream she had- or rather, a memory that decided to rear it's ugly mug in her sleep.

To get to this point, actually attending Beacon, has been nothing short of hell.

After she was dressed, she made her way to the cafeteria where her team was. She passed by crowds of people who all turned to whispers upon her passing. She could see their faces as she walked past.

They all seemed to react differently to her. Some seemed in awe, excited that the famous "Goddess of Lightning" was attending Beacon. Others grew jealous towards her, the girl who supposedly led a perfect life, ignorant to her hardships. Everyone held different feelings towards her, but it meant all the same to Nora.

She was an object of attention. Either an animal in a zoo for all to look at for entertainment, or a spoiled child who didn't deserve to be here. She tried to push away all of the white noise they seemed to let loose and continued to look for her team. It took a while, but through the crowd she managed to find them near the top-right corner of the cafeteria.

Pyrrha was looking at her scroll, and Arc was leaning over Pyrrha's shoulder to watch what she was watching. Saphron was wolfing down her food, while Ren was calmly eating his food at his own pace.

Nora looked across the cafeteria at the food stands. It was completely closed, breakfast having passed already. She sighs, lamenting the fact that she was a heavy sleeper. She decided to just get a snack later and join her friends.

As she walked over to the table, they each greeted her.

"Hey, Nora!" Pyrrha said happily.

"Mornin'." Arc said with a small wave.

"Good morning, Nora." Ren said with a warm smile.

"Umph. Mornin' Nor'. " Saphron said with her mouth full.

"Come on, Saph! Don't talk with your mouth full like that!" Arc exclaimed, annoyed at her sister's lack of manners.

She quickly swallows her food. "Uh, hello? I thought I was the older sibling here!." The jab causes Arc to scowl, but before he could respond with his own retort she turns towards Nora.

"Sorry." She says quickly, but sincerely. She didn't mean to give a bad first impression.

Nora waves it off. "It's cool. I don't really care." She says casually.

She takes a seat next to Ren and as soon as she does a plate of food slides in front of her. The plate had a heavy helping of waffles with syrup, forgoing any fruit or vegetables in favor of sausages filling the rest of the plate. She looks over to Ren, who just smiled.

"The lines were about to close, so I got you your usual." He explains, sticking a fork into the waffles.

A huge smile stretches across Nora's face, and without warning she leans forward to hug him.

"Thanks, Ren."

The embrace lasted for a few seconds before Nora pulled away and promptly began biting into her waffle.

Ren's left there frozen and blushing madly, unsure how to process that. After a few seconds he regained motion, and drove his gaze solely in front of him. "Uhm, yes! You're welcome." He says awkwardly, before a shy smile appears on his features.

Pyrrha and Arc took a quick glance at them before Pyrrha looked back at him. She rose her eyebrows and gave a smug smirk as if to say _'Still thinking it'll be after the festival?'_

Nora noticed the strange look Pyrrha gave Arc, but didn't really care. She was content eating her breakfast and being in the company of her new friends.

She thought about it for a few minutes. They never made any assumptions about her. Pyrrha and Arc let her actions speak for her, and Ren hadn't even heard of her before. Saph didn't seem to have heard of her either.

They immediately accepted her as one of them, and never treated her any differently from each other. They saw her neither as a rich, privileged girl nor as a celebrity needing special attention. She was just... Nora.

She couldn't stop smiling to herself. She had never been this happy back at the house. Nobody else treated her like this. Whereas the butlers and maids delivered her food for a paycheck, Ren did it because he didn't want her to miss breakfast. Whereas the other students saw her as some unreachable being, Arc and Pyrrha treated her like a close friend.

To get to this point has truly been hell. Even her dream of being a Huntress grew dim with the expectations and exploitation of her family. Honestly, she didn't really care about it all that much any more.

She looks around the table. ' _... But I guess it doesn't really have to matter. As long as they're here, I'll be happy.'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: Three members of Team JNPR down! Now I just have to write a chapter for Pyrrha, and then I'll start on Volume 2!**

 **I know this chapter's pretty short, but I feel it conveys the emotion I wanted it to carry. In canon, not much was revealed of Pyrrha's past, so I was given something of a blank slate to work with. I made sure to keep the isolation of fame as the main focus of her character, just like Pyrrha, but I've also made her a pretty chill and laid-back character otherwise, so I hope it strikes a good balance between her and Nora.**

 **Let's respond to some reviews, shall we?**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Very nice and cute chapter, i didn't expect this at all,while i can't wait to see with whath new toys JPNR will come. Keep up the good work and see you soon.

 **Thanks. I actually had that chapter thought up since I started the fic, but it took a lot of work to actually put it together.**

 **FifiCici:**

I love this story! Keep up the good work, take as long as you need to write chapters, and have a good day!

 **Thanks, and you have a good day, too!**

 **SubSurvivor:**

Oh god... we are in for a wild confusing hilarious ride

 **Hehe... TRUST me, we haven't even gotten started yet!  
**

 **Thank you all for reading, and see you next chapter!**


	18. Paralogue 8: Notions of Difference

**Paralogue 8: Notions of Difference**

"Hmmm Hmm Hmm Hmmmm Hmm Hmmmmm~"

The sounds of her own humming filled Pyrrha's ears as she strolled down the streets of Vale. She was passing through the street market, which was home to countless food stalls. The pleasant atmosphere and plethora of exciting sights and smells made it one of her favorite places to visit. The people here were all so nice as well.

Grabbing an apple, she hands the stand owner three lien and continues on her way, taking a bite out of it as she walks. "It's so much better than New Stanton." Pyrrha whispers to herself, the painful memories associated with that place having long been worked through. _'Hopefully with Saph back he'll start to cheer up.'_ She thinks, more worried about Arc's state of mind than her own.

Her smile widens even further after thinking about Saphron, the girl she thought was lost all those years ago. _'I still can't believe she's alive. It's so incredible that we can talk like we did back then... Though, I guess it isn't exactly like before. Too much has changed.'_ She takes a moment to consider that fact. How should she act around her? Is it alright to assume she was anything like how she was nine years back? Was it okay to talk to her after the incident?

After a moment, her confidence restores as she decides not to let this bog her down. _''That just means we have a chance to become better friends. We didn't get along much before, did we? This can be a new start.'_

Pyrrha continues on her way, enjoying the sunny day and fresh air. She could see multiple groups and families on the streets and in the local cafes. _'Everyone seems to be out and about today. Good day for it, I suppose.'_ As she peeked into one of the cafe's windows, she could feel a tug on the hem of her dress. Turning around, she sees a young boy, who was no more than eight years old looking up at her with admiration in his eyes.

Pulling his hand away, he seemed tongue-tied. After a few seconds of silence, Pyrrha speaks first. "Can I help you?" The simple question struck the boy's face scarlet as he looks to the ground.

Pyrrha was mystified. _'Who is he? Is his parents around?'_ Worry was evident on her features as she looked around, no potential guardian present. His silence wasn't exactly making things easier, either. Before she could ask, a voice rang out.

"Kyle!"

Looking to her left, Pyrrha saw a teenage woman, around fourteen years old, running towards them. She stopped in front of them, regaining her breath. "Kyle, why did you run off like that?" She asks again, annoyed at the boy. "Why are you bothering this woman? We have plans!"

Kyle quickly runs behind the teen and looks to the ground, growing more embarrassed than before. "Sorry..."

The girl looks up at Pyrrha, who begins to profusely apologize to her. "I'm his sister. I'm so sorry if he bothered you at all! He didn't mean to-"

Pyrrha stops her there. "Don't worry about it!" It wasn't like he did anything, anyways. "What's your name?"

The girl quickly introduces the two of them. "Oh, right! My name is Serah, and this is my brother, Kyle." The boy, trying to ask what was on his mind walked out from behind his sister's shadow.

Taking a step forward, he plucked together what courage he could muster. "A-Are you... A Huntress...?" This surprises Serah, who turns from her brother back to Pyrrha.

Pyrrha crouches down to one knee, in order to be at his eye level. "Not yet, but I will be! I'm taking classes in Beacon."

The siblings' eyes light up instantly, the sister even starting to hop in place as the two almost burst in excitement. "YOU'RE SERIOUSLY IN BEACON?!" She almost screams, taking out her scroll as quickly as possible. "Will you take a picture with us?!"

"We would really appreciate it!" Kyle says, interlacing his fingers. "Our family loves the Huntsmen and Huntresses. Grandad was one, too!"

Pyrrha couldn't help but smile, their enthusiasm was infectious!. "I would love to take a picture with you two! Do you want to take it in front of the cafe?"

Serah nods. "Yeah, totally!" Kyle didn't seem to mind, either. "Anywhere is alright!"

The three quickly walk over to the front of the cafe, and as Serah held out her scroll the three of them each adopted their own sort of pose. Serah gave the most surprised, yet ecstatic look she could, Pyrrha popped a peace sign and stuck her tongue out, and Kyle just settled on the biggest grin he could give.

After thanking her for the picture the siblings ran off, apparently remembering they had somewhere to be. Pyrrha continued to look around the stands, sticking around a moment to admire any trinket that caught her interest.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

She eventually reached a stall that seemed dedicated to selling jewelry. As she browsed in fancy, one particular trinket snatched her attention. It was a tiny iron band attached to a light chain, the band being torn up slightly to resemble a laurel crown.

Though, it brought up some unhappy memories for her.

"This one caught yer' eye?" The vendor asks, more than happy to explain to her exactly what the piece was if it meant selling it. "This 'ere is the symbol of the Old Era! It was used in prayer for an ancient and dead religion! People would take little penchants like this and would worship their god. I know what yer' thinkin', 'They only had one god?' I know, pretty weird, right? Always makes for a good tale, though!"

After a moment of consideration, Pyrrha asks the salesman: "... How much is it?"

"For you, I'll make it ten lien!"

Pyrha politely pays the man and leaves with the small necklace in her hands, but not putting it around her neck.

Pyrrha didn't notice much on her way back to Beacon, too lost in thought to really enjoy the city anymore.

 _'Dead religion, huh...? Well... I guess he's not wrong.'_

She carried the necklace as if it would disappear in her hands, and yet she found she wouldn't really care either way. Eventually, Pyrrha found herself in the courtyard, with only a few odd students walking past with their friends.

She walked to one of the trees present there, and kneels before it. She grasps the tiny laurel wreath in between her palms and offers a prayer.

 _'Noble Magnes... It has been many years since I have offered prayer in your name. Today I ask not for your forgiveness, but for your understanding. I hope you realize that my family may have been the only ones left who truly believed in you, and now they are gone. If you were the god that my family believed in then they wouldn't have had to die, you wouldn't have failed them. I cease prayer to you now not because I do not believe in your existence, but because I no longer believe in your strength. I realize that I should have broken my ties the day I lost my faith, and I apologize for my procrastination. From this day forth, I leave your light.'_

Pyrrha opens her eyes and opens her hands. The necklace falls to the ground, barely making a sound. As she stands up she stares at the symbol of faith barely hiding in the grass, no longer feeling any attachment to the symbol. She flexes her hand, and instantly the necklace is crushed into a small ball. The sounding of tearing metal could be heard as magnetism threw the iron into itself, chain and all.

Nothing happened after that, which almost surprised Pyrrha. After she gave her words of defiance, she thought that some act of righteous fury would strike her down, or that a voice in her head would say something mystical and vague, but no.

All that really happened was her throwing the bit of metal into the trash bin.

The sun started to turn a bright yellow, signifying the beautiful transition from day to night. She left the courtyard and started towards the dorms, not expecting the person who greeted her at the entrance.

Her second-favorite Arc stood there, giving an apologetic look. "Oh, hey Saph."

Saphron gave her a wave, seemingly unsure of what to say. "Hey... Can we talk for a bit?" She seemed serious.

Pyrrha nods. "Of course! You just want to hang out here for a bit?" She asks, since they were already at the courtyard. With Saphron's affirmation they picked a spot on the ground and sit down. Pyrrha didn't notice it before, but the cool evening air and heat from the setting sun felt nice.

When they sat down, Pyrrha gave her the time Saph needed to say what's on her mind. A few minutes passed as the two sat in comfortable, if not slightly tense, silence. In the meantime Pyrrha looked to the sunset, which shown a myriad of colors not unlike Pyrrha's own armor.

"Hey, Pyrrha..."

She focuses her attention back to Saphron, who had to look at the ground to speak. "I'm... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

This wasn't something Pyrrha expected her to say. What was she sorry for?

"Back in the village... I never really understood what your religion was about, or why everybody else made fun of you and your family for it, so instead of trying to learn, I... I just ended up joining them. And... then the villagers-"

"Saph, stop."

She looks up at the red-haired warrior, confused and worried. Before she could continue, Pyrrha quickly placed her hand on Saphron's shoulder. "It's okay. I know it must have been hard to even hang out with me at all back then, I'm just happy you did. I considered you a good friend back then, and I still do. It's all in the past, Saph."

Stunned by her words, she doesn't know what to say. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as the moment got to her. "It's just... I saw you destroy that icon and... I thought it had to be because of me."

 _'Ahh.'_

It now made sense to Pyrrha why she brought this up so suddenly. It was fairly coincidental timing, after all. "No! That isn't it, I... Well, in truth I stopped praying after the fire. I guess I just finalized it today." She explains, hoping that made Saphron feel better.

She wiped away her tears and looks Pyrrha in the eyes, still voicing her regret. "But still... I don't know how to make up for it."

Pyrrha gives an understanding smile. "You don't have to, I forgive you. It's behind us now."

It took a while, but Saphron eventually seems to forgive herself. "Yeah... I guess you're right."

Pyrrha flashes a grin to try and cheer her up. She stands up and asks in a chipper voice; "Alright, let's get going. You know where your gorgeous brother is?"

This causes Saphron to chuckle. "Gorgeous brother? I don't know who you're talking about, Jaune's the only brother in the family. He's cooking dinner right now, though."

Pyrrha's face brightens up when she hears this. "Yum~! Then we have to hurry, or else Nora will eat everything! Come on!" She runs off, leaving Saphron to do her best to keep up.

"Wait up! I'm not as fast as you guys! Stop!" But even as she shouted complaints, she was secretly having fun. _'I'm happy the two of them got together, they were SO obviously crushing on each other it was painful to watch... They really are perfect for each other._

After that she was left to wonder what Arc was cooking...

It was lasagna.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: I KNOW IT'S BEEN ALMOST THREE MONTHS DON'T REMIND ME. I'M JUST HAPPY THE JNPR STORIES ARE OVER. Now, we can get back to business! Season 2 is up next! (Jeez, the wait between these two chapters felt almost as long as the wait between the actual RWBY seasons.)  
**

 **Reviews!**

 **Merendinoemiliano:**

Really good chapter, i liked this background for Nora, i guess in some point it was sadder than Pyhrra, in other slightly better(well, a true friend or two wouldn't harm), but i doubt she could throw a Grimm barehanded withouht Aura, she unlocked it tough training?

 **Thing is, Nora had become very strong by that point in time, and even though she didn't have her Aura by then, between her extreme athleticism and the relative weakness of Beowolves she was able to fend it off. (Seriously, in the Red trailer Ruby was able to fight off an army of those things, just one of them is really not that much of a threat.)**

 **Royal2:**

Wow I feel bad for Nora but still good chapter.

 **Thanks, need a few tragic characters, right?  
**

 **Bomberguy789:**

Not sure how exactly I managed to miss the previous two chapters, but it's good to be back and it's great to see the mixing and matching that has been going on! Can't wait to take a look at Pyrrha, who right now may as well have an even blanker slate than Nora did, given we know nothing of Nora's past until she met Ren and we know nothing whatsoever of Pyrrha's past. Good luck!

 **Thing is, just like in the actual show where Ren and Nora's pasts are completely revealed in episode 10, Volume 4, so will Jaune and Pyrrha's be here. (I know it's a long way off, bear with me until then.)**

 **powermaxwax:**

lovvvvveeee the fic  
it is great and the swaps are good and make me say WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT

great writing keep it up

 **Thanks, that's the kind of reaction I'm going for!**

 **See you guys next chapter(which will be coming out a lot sooner)!**


	19. Chapter 11: Best Day Ever

**Chapter 11: Best Day Ever**

It was 11:00 A.M. In Vale, and by this point everyone was up and about. Everyone who had work that day was well into work hours, and it wasn't lunch time yet, either. And with today being a week day all of the Beacon students were in classes. Few people were on the streets, most were off just enjoying the day.

But for two particular teens, they were actually on their way to work, but they didn't know where to go...

The one teen, a man, had bright cyan hair, while the other, a girl, wore a warm auburn. They kept strolling the streets of Vale until they happened upon a newly reopened Dust shop.

'From Dust Till Dawn' it read. An old man stood atop a ladder, affixing a commemorative banner below the sign. The girl stepped forward to talk with the store owner. Just as she was about to speak the man loses his footing and falls of the ladder, much to the woman's surprise.

The old man shakes his head, his rear sore from the fall but nothing else really hurting. He looks up to see the young woman extend her arm to him.

"Are you okay? That looked like it hurt..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"... Thanks a bunch, Goodbye."

Having received directions from the man, she heads back towards her companion, who waited by the nearby wall, leaning against it. She walked by him, pretending he didn't exist.

"You know, if you're getting help from someone it's common courtesy not to steal their wallet." The boy said in a chastising manner.

The girl flares up instantly. "Don't go acting like you're a goody-two-shoes, Neptune! You steal just as much as me!" She says, pointing the stolen wallet at him for emphasis.

Neptune gives a bow as if he had just received high praise. "I am flattered that you consider me your equal in the ancient arts. To think I would receive such a compliment from such a beautiful and talented person like you..."

She scowls in disgust, before walking off. Neptune raises an eyebrow before speed walking over to catch up with her. "No punch to the face? No death threats? Not even an insult? I'm surprised, Vernal, has the city really gotten to you that much?"

Vernal covers her face in exasperation, looking like she's about to scream. "Uuuuugh! It's just these people, Neptune! Why are they so...!?"

She stops talking for a moment to let out the aforementioned scream. "GRAAAAHH! Why are they so gods-damned happy!? Their stupid smiling faces are driving me nuts!"

Her outburst over, Neptune has an actually serious answer to offer. "It's because there's nothing here to turn their frowns right-side up. They all live nearly perfect lives in their own little bubble they call Vale. You wanna know why they call this place Vale? It's because nobody in it wants to see anything outside the city."

Vernal seems slightly surprised, not expecting his philosophical answer. "Huh. I think that's the first sensible thing you've ever said."

Neptune immediately grins at this. "Oh, come on! I've have plenty of wisdom to offer! I studied philosophy back home, I could recite Aristotle if you want..."

Vernal pivots around and grabs Neptune by the collar. "I WILL slit your throat in broad daylight, Vasilias!" She yells, which just causes him to give a pleasant laugh.

"There's Vernal!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

After a few minutes they finally got to work, a place called "Leo's Book Outlet". They walk in to a room absolutely filled with books, both on the shelves and stacked from the floor. They look around, but don't see anyone inside.

While Vernal passes time by looking through the store's selection, Neptune walks over to the counter, on which was a bell and behind the counter a door into the backroom. He rings it, and a reply was quick in coming.

"Just one moment!"

He could faintly see a man's figure through the clouded glass of the door, and a second later the doors opened, revealing a lion faunus caring a stack of books. He puts it down against the wall and addresses the two potential customers. "Welcome to Leo's Book Outlet, Where There's A Book For Everyone! How can I-"

He stops for a second after looking at the two. They seemed normal enough, but something just seemed... off about them. "How can I help you?"

"Just looking around." Vernal says from the front of the store. Neptune had a different request.

"My good man, would you happen to have any copies of 'Beauty and the Beast'?" He asked in his trademark flamboyance.

A little off-put by his grandiose nature, he nevertheless stays professional. "Sure do! Do you want to buy a copy?"

Neptune shakes his head, a coy look on his face. "No, just making sure your selection is as good as you say."

He seems he remembered something, as his face perks up at his next question. "Oh! Do you have 'Hunted'?"

"We have that, as well."

"Perfect! What about 'The Hung Thief'? I've always been loved that book, haven't you?"

The question struck Leo as odd. If he loved it so much, didn't he have a copy...?

Neptune continued. "A tale about a young thief with ambition... He joins a guild only to betray it later, isn't that right?" Neptune's gaze towards the store owner turns hostile, even as he kept smiling. Vernal closed the book she was reading and walks toward the light switches. She turns them all off and closes the blinds, leaving the room almost pitch black.

Leo knew where this was going, and yet he calmly stared down the two. Subtly, he slides a metal disk along one of the shelves of the desk.

"Eventually, the guild caught their old friend and decided to make an example of him. From the top of a chapel, no less! There's a very good lesson right there, Leo... Don't stab your friends in the back, they may not appreciate it if they live."

Tense silence filled the room as the two teenagers-made-assassins toyed with their food. Surprisingly, it's the mark that breaks it. "You two aren't White Fang, you aren't even faunus. Why are you doing this?"

Vernal snaps her fingers and grins, seemingly almost proud of her prey. "Ooooooh, yeowch! Asking the right question but not getting the answer! It must really blow." She says, obviously enjoying herself.

"My good man..." Neptune echoes, drawing the metal package on his back. It unfolds into a trident-like weapon. Leo slowly grabs the metal disk. "What do you plan to do now?"

Leonardo doesn't show fear, even if it grips his heart. "I am a lion... NOT A KITTEN!"

In an instant the metal device slides on his arm, revealing itself to be a Dust-loaded buckler. He points it at Neptune, unleashing a blast of frost that engulfed a side of the store. The two dodge the shot in a flash, and Neptune jabs at him from the other side of the counter.

Leo barely blocks the strike, surprised by their strength. Neptune pulls the spear up, holding Leo's shield above his head.

 _Click!_

The last thing he saw was Vernal pulling two bladed guns on him, taking advantage of his immobility.

 _BANG!_

 _BANG!_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

It was 11:15 A.M. In Beacon Academy, and for the unsuspecting students it was going to quickly become very exciting.

Until then, Weiss was looking into her journal, looking on past moments. Her eyes rested on the picture of an old friend she drew a few years ago. His back was turned away from the page, two nunchaku slung over each shoulder.

As she detached from reality, Ruby quickly pulled her back. "Hey! Watcha reading? She asked as she leaned over towards her.

Weiss quickly closes her journal, blushing slightly. "Nothing of importance to you. I was reading something from my journal, if you must know."

Ruby nods before suddenly snapping at the air to the left of her, successfully catching a pea in her mouth. She gives a thumbs up to the adjacent tables, which sat Team JNPR as well as Saphron. Pyrrha was holding her hands in front of her, using her Semblance to control her fork and fling peas towards Ruby.

A massive folder landed in front of Team RWBY, the cover title reading 'Vytal Festival Activities- Property of Blake Belladona' was crossed out in red marker and replaced with 'BEST DAY EVER ACTIVITIES'. Yang was grinning widely, apparently excited for the activities she had planned.

She addresses everyone in the team. "Sister, friend, Blake..."

"Rude!"

Yang pays her no mind. "I have spent all last night devising a perfect plan of leisurely activities." She says grandly. While she was explaining, Ruby catches another pea in her mouth.

Blake gives an acute glare. "Whatever you have in mind I doubt it required you defacing my binder."

Yang didn't seem guilty at all. "It was absolutely necessary, thank you very much!"

Weiss looks up from her journal she had been looking at when everybody stopped paying attention to her. "Oh my gods, Yang... What are you talking about?"

Yang steps on top of one of the seats, reaching the pinnacle of her speech. "It's about having fun! I know I can be a stick in the mud sometimes, so I put this whole plan together with some help from my adorable sis..."

Yang quickly pats Ruby on the head, much to her annoyance. "Hey! Knock it off!" As soon as she says this, a pea splats against her cheek. "Hey!"

Yang continues. "Look, guys. Break's just about over, and with so many people coming over to Beacon it seems like a great time to meet up and talk to people! Think about it, we're about to meet people from all over Remnant!"

While in the middle of her explanation, and without interrupting it Ruby stood up and threw an apple at Pyrrha, only to miss and hit some random schmuck in the back.

"Ow!"

"They're going to be leaving after the Vytal Tournament, right? We should get to know these people, because who knows if we'll ever go there ourselves?" She finishes, looking to her teammates for input.

Weiss looked reluctant. "I... I'm not sure. I'm not the best with groups, you know..."

Blake tried to compromise. "Regardless, even if we don't go out meeting people I think we should spend our last free day as a team." She stands up, about to voice her agreement. "I believe we should review-"

"Don't mess with a girl with MAGNETISM!"

"WAIT-"

Unfortunately for the unsuspecting Blake, while Pyrrha was indeed a powerful Huntress she also had the unfortunate distinction of being rather... inaccurate with anything other than her rifle.

So in other words...

 _Splat!_

The pie-shaped projectile (lemon meringue, btw) flung straight onto Blake's face, comically sticking their as white whipped cream covered the top of her black dress.

Pyrrha quickly pointed at Arc, who just held his head in his hands, knowing what was about to happen. The other three in Team JNPR held an expression that can only be described as 'Oh, no'.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Meanwhile, outside the building next to the cafeteria walked Adam and his second-in-command, Arslan.

"White Fang, huh? That's... Unfortunate." She states simply, hoping not to hit a sore spot.

Adam didn't seem to mind, though. "I'll admit, it wasn't pleasant fighting old friends... But I meet Weiss again! When we were fighting together, it felt like the good old days of the Fang, before it became what it was." He explains. If anything, he was happy at how it all turned out.

That statement put a smile on Arslan's face. As it turned out, she was one of the few human White Fang sympathizers for back before their change. "That's good to hear! Maybe now you'll stop getting bummed out in the middle of a fight." She jokes, nudging him in the shoulder.

He just chuckles. "Me? You get bummed out every time a relationship doesn't work out between you and someone else! You wanna know how often that is?" Adam points out playfully, but Arslan just rolls her eyes.

"Oh, come on! Maybe YOU should get yourself a certain somebody, then you'd lighten up a bit. An occasional fling can be healthy!" She points out.

Adam considers this for a second, but just shrugs. "I just never really saw anyone like that. I don't know, Arslan, I just can't-" He stops when he sees his partner looking through the cafeteria window, having lost focus.

"Uhh, Arslan? What's up?"

She quickly snaps her gaze back towards Adam, a mischievous smile quickly appearing on her features. "Nothing! Come on, you were going to show me your new friends, right!?" She quickly grabs his wrist and runs towards the entrance with Adam in tow.

"Wh- Arslan!? What's the deal!?" He asks, flustered.

They reach the entrance in a flash, Adam being incredibly confused. "Arslan, what-"

"Your friends look like a lot of fun!" She says randomly, only serving to confuse him even more.

"I- What do you mean!?" He asks out loud, starting to go crazy. She walks over to the cafeteria entrance and throws the doors open. Adam is left dumbfounded at what he saw.

All of the tables had been thrown aside, food was splattered everywhere, and an entire wall had been scorched as burned food covered it from top to bottom. Team RWBY stood seemingly victorious, while Team JNPR was left completely messy, food and drink ruining their clothes.

Saphron's head popped up from behind one of the tables, having hidden their the entire food fight. "Is it over?"

"NO SURVIVORS!" Ruby screamed as she chucked a piece of watermelon at the non-combatant.

"AAAAAAA-" Her scream was cut off as the chunk of red fruit smashed into her face, knocking her onto her back from the force of the impact.

While Adam stood there dumbfounded, Arslan was laughing her butt off. "Well! They certainly seem like fun!" She laughs out.

The light-hearted mood died as a green-haired teacher stormed past the two members of Team TANK, absolutely furious. "What! The! Hell! Is! WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!? Why do you always have to do this crazy crap OUTSIDE my arena!?"

The outburst silences everyone in the room, and the mood doesn't seem to improve when Salem herself enters the cafeteria. "Ms. Sustrai, perhaps you should be a little more lenient with them. Besides, we'll have them clean up the place as punishment." She offers, hoping to calm her down.

Despite the groans of the students, Emerald still seemed exasperated. "That's it? Just fix what they started? That's it!"

She throws her hands into the air. "I'm quitting! I'll have my resignation in by Monday."

Salem didn't seem too concerned. "If you're typing it up can you submit it in comic sans? I find it pleasant to read." She jokes, causing Emerald to roll her eyes.

"Really? Comic sans? Okay, now I'm really quitting!" The banter between the two lifts the sense of unease from the air, and the students start laughing again despite the enormous amount of work ahead of them. Blake did say she wanted the last days of break to be spent as a team...

As Salem watched Teams RWBY and JNPR got to cleaning (as well as Adam and Arslan, by guilt of association) she began to think to herself.

' _Their time isn't here yet. For now, I'm fine with them living their childhoods, but I can't shake this feeling that this year will be cut short... Ozpin, what are you planning?'_

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In an undisclosed warehouse near Vale, White Fang prowled the area, each working their assigned task as Dust was being moved. Neptune and Vernal walked in, ignoring them and walking up to the person heading the operation.

Hei Xiong.

He looks away from the table he was at, he seemed to be looking at strategic locations. Upon looking at the two, he scowls. "Ugh, it's you brats again... What do you want?"

Vernal walked over, a slip of paper in her hand. "Oh, we just came over to tell you that your little problem has been dealt with." She flicks the piece of paper onto the ground. Hei Xiong is more than a little annoyed by this, and he only gets more angry after reading it. It was Leonardo Lionheart's hit tag.

"How'd you get this!?" He yells, not happy that they were working behind his back.

Neptune gives a condescending smile. "Oh, Junior, that's not what's important, is it? We just thought we'd help out a little, that's all! Now a 'thank you' would be appreciated..."

Glaring at the two, he tried to get answers out of them. "Can it, fish! That was _my_ job, and you two know what that means to Goodwitch! I was about to take care of it!"

Vernal just rolls his eyes. "He already scheduled a flight for later this week. You suuuuure had it taken care of." She said sarcastically.

This pushed Xiong over the edge. "Quiet! If it were up to me, you'd both be-"

"Both be what, sorry?"

He was interrupted as a woman with short, platinum blonde hair walked in. Her eyes burned a hot amber, and a strict aura exuded from her.

"I'd kill them both and chuck them in a river." He answers honestly. It wasn't like that conversation was going anywhere else.

Vernal seemed happy as Goodwitch approached. "Glynda!"

She didn't seem to notice. "I thought I told you to eliminate this man. Why wasn't it done sooner?" She asks in an almost scolding voice.

"I got my men working overtime! I'd would've gotten it done earlier this week if I had more of these idiots to work with." He reasons, trying to make it less his fault.

"I see..." Glynda turns towards her two subordinates. "And what is your excuse? How do you wish explain your disobeying orders?" The question knocked the wind out of her subordinates, having lost their smug attitude.

Neptune tried to cover for them. "We knew about the assignment and we just meant to-"

Glynda cuts him off. "So you _meant_ to disobey direct orders."

His attempt backfiring, he stops trying. "... Forgive us, ma'am. It won't happen again."

She pinches the bridge of her nose, irritated but mysteriously not too angry. "People. We won't get anywhere if we deviate from the plan. We're almost done, now."

Hei Xiong didn't seem convinced. "It would make things a lot easier on my end if you people would let me in on your end game."

Glynda popped a smirk, realizing she had a chance to remind him of his place. "Very well, I will make this very easy for you, Hei Xiong... Your continued cooperation has been instrumental in forming my opinion of you."

She walks towards him, beginning to fiddling with Xiong's tie. "My opinion of you is... sufficient. _However,_ that opinion can change if at any time, and if that happens I'm not sure if you'll be worth the risk of having around. Do you understand, Hei Xiong?"

A second passes, before he gives a resigned nod. His silence a good enough answer, she let's go of the tie and walks away. "In that case, it's time to shift focus. Get the White Fang to clear the building and prepare the train."

He knew what this meant. "Time for phase 2?"

She gives a cruel smile. "Indeed."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: Season two has started! What do you guys think of the new Mercury and Emerald? Also, I'm sorry for not covering the actual food fight, but I had two reasons for not doing it.**

 **1\. Retelling it probably wouldn't change the actual fight that much. Other than Yang and Ruby's different weapons, they would all serve pretty much the same role as before.**

 **2\. I don't have that kind of writing skill. Monty did an extraordinary job animating that whole scene, and I don't think I could ever recreate something like that in literary form.**

 **So I'm sorry to those who were excited for that particular scene, but I won't be writing it.**

 **Onto another topic... SEASON 6 HYPE! Six more days!**

 **And now, reviews!**

 **Royal2:**

Your back I'm so happy I can't wait for the next chapter and the introduction of Summer and Raven.

 **I'm also excited for Summer and Raven. Normally, they'd be introduced in Season 3, but I'm planning to write a Paralogue around the time of the dance episode. Always happy to see you commenting, Royal!  
**

 **Bomberguy789:**

You know, if Pyrrha can still control metal, she really should still be the most, if not second most, powerful huntress in Beacon. Skill or not, such a semblance as too huge an application not to instantly make her stronger than RWBY and JNR. Especially if she doesn't hide it, thereby potentially making her more powerful with it in the first place. Then again, I'm getting the feeling I've already said this, so who knows. Nora is the most skilled, Pyrrha's the most powerful Ren is a tactical leader with a very useful semblance for such a role, Jaune is... also there in a fight (has he got his semblance yet? I can't remember), and overall RAVN can definitely beat RWBY (still can't think of a better name) in a fight. Regardless, we haven't entirely gotten the chance yet but I can't wait to see people using different aspects of their semblances differently. Good luck!

 **Thing is, Pyrrha does indeed have an extremely powerful Semblance, and she doesn't bother hiding it, either. However she also doesn't really bother using it in the first place, instead opting to drag out fights to at least have a bit of a challenge. In terms of Jaune's role in the team, I guess you could consider him the tank. With the combined factors of; a full suit of armor, Semblance meant to improve his Aura, a sword and shield fighting style, and an already strong Aura, he can pretty much take _any_ sort of punishment and get right back up.**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Quite cool and sweet chapter, trough i missed Pyrrha's craziness from previous chapters. Best of luck with nexts, dude.

 **Yeah, one thing I kinda regret is just how far over the place Pyrrha's personality is. I've been thinking about going back and rewriting it...**

 **Miraculous Pink Ninja:**

Lie Ren is following his Chinese name. Meaning that Lie is his surname far as I know.

 **Yeah, I've the order of the names between Ren and Jaune to keep up with the whole theme, and I have an idea and reason now for why Jaune likes to be called by his last name, but Ren doesn't make sense... I've been thinking of ex-machina-ing the whole thing and changing every time they said "Lie" back to "Ren"...**

 **therandompers:**

Calling Ren, Lie in this is super weird to me. The swaps o' doom are interesting though

Pyrrha with Nora's hyperactivity is really amusing to think about.  
Ren in Jaune's character role is also pretty amusing

I'm not sure why but for some reason i have this weird suspicious that Cinder is going to end up being Penny, would be really funny if she was.

So this isn't really anything important but you don't have the 's if the word or person's name end with an s. You would just have the apostrophe  
Also, as i was thinking about how things would be different with Blake having weiss' role i realized the whole family dynamic thing really wouldn't work in the general sense. Interesting

So i just now have the mental image of Ozpin sitting in that one really evil place with a cup of coffee and going "Everything is proceeding as planned" while looking over the evil landscape lol

I was wondering how you were going to do this scene, the set up is certainly interesting.  
This would also have to be the first time i've someone make Adam not be a horrible person.

So pardon me if this is incorrect, but i thought half faunus weren't a thing? At least in canon. Cause i seem to remember it saying that in a human and a faunus had kids then the kids would be regular faunus? Maybe i'm just misremembering.

I should *probably* read the chapters before i comment on problems with the universe...oh well.

 **Yep, been thinking of ex-machina-ing Ren's name...**

 **Yeah, I was worrying about the apostrophe when I wrote it and now I can't find it! Do you remember where it was...?**

 **That image of Ozpin reminds me of the "everything is fine" meme. lol.**

 **Yeah, in this fic characters with no redeeming traits will get a second chance!**

 **You're right, half-faunus AREN'T a thing, which I didn't really research before I wrote the fic... But I figured out something that will eventually make sense!**

 **Yeah... here's one thing about theorizing about which characters are who: It's totally fine to do so, it's just that when you speculate before you read all of the chapters you might be proven wrong right after you comment it. Again, I'm not discouraging speculation, I would just recommend comment after you read all the current chapters.**

 **Thank you all for commenting, and see you next chapter!**


	20. Chapter 12: Welcome to Beacon

**Chapter 12: Welcome to Beacon**

Airships flew all around Beacon Academy, several even having landed. The icons proudly emboldened on their sides signified them as Atlesian aircraft, the strongest military power on Remnant.

At the top of Beacon tower stood Salem and Emerald, observing the fleet fly through. Emerald scowled. "The idiot really thinks bringing an army will calm people down? Ugh, I'm gonna slug him..."

Salem seemed a bit more sympathetic. "Becoming head of the Atlesian military and a Headmaster at his age is no small feat, and I'm sure someone of is position would want adequate protection..." She looked at the landing strip, which was currently deploying about three squads of soldiers.

"That being said I made sure to warn the council of a potential attack from Atlas. Just in case."

A ringing sounded off as a holographic message appeared above Salem's desk. It was a request to enter the top floor.

"Come in." Salem said, her computer responding to the command and opened the elevator door. As the steel doors slid opened a young man walked forward. The Atlesian general had a suit that wore the same shade of color as his dark grey hair. His footsteps echoed throughout the room, like metal striking against metal.

Salem began walking towards the general. "General Black. It's an honor to have you here at Beacon." She says politely.

When he hears this, Mercury gives a little laugh. "Come on, Salem! Forget the titles right now, we're friends, right?" He points out. The two of them shake hands, after which he turns towards Emerald. "And if it isn't Emerald! You're looking just as good as you did back in school!"

She almost seemed like she was going to vomit. "And _you_ haven't changed at all." She turns towards Salem. "I'll be outside." Keeping to her word and leaving, the room remains in silence for a few seconds.

Mercury just shrugs. "She wants me."

Salem sighs and pinches the bridge of her nose. She could already feel a headache coming on... Regardless, she tries to get back on track. "So, Mercury, what's brought you here all the way from Atlas? Headmaster's don't typically travel with their students."

As she points this out, she pours them both a cup of tea from the pot on her desk. She hands it to him, at point which the two of them clink their mugs. "Well, I'll always take the chance to see you and Em. Plus, the weather over here is actually nice, unlike Atlas. Even when it isn't snowing it's way too cold for comfort."

Contemplating what to say next, Salem walks back to her desk. "I can appreciate the sentiment, but the fleet stationed in my academy doesn't give the impression of a friendly visit..."

Mercury looks somewhat apologetic, and tries to explain. "Yeah, about that... Me and the other higher-ups decided to try a new 'program'..." He starts. Taking a sip from his mug, he continues. "Atlas isn't seen as a very 'friendly' nation, so to speak. Doesn't help that our military is the largest on Remnant. So we're trying to involve our soldiers and military vehicles in day-to-day activities and civilian work, to make them seem more down-to-earth... Besides, if things are getting as bad as Raven's been saying, then the extra security is going to be necessary."

Salem gives him a glare. "You organized all of this behind my back? What are you thinking?" She says sharply, making sure to tell him in no uncertain terms how serious of an offense this was.

"I'm sorry." He says quickly, only this time it didn't seem so sincere. "I did what I thought was best for the people here and back in Atlas. I know I was crossing you by doing that... But I know that if what Raven says is true-"

Salem cuts him off. "Then we will handle this discreetly, without an army of soldiers and mechs. The Vytal Festival is a celebration that supersedes all barriers, be it race, ideology, or simply just ordinary disagreements. This army you brought, it's only going to serve to agitate the people of Vale. Until we decide- as a group- what our next action will be, we will simply continue training the greatest Huntsmen we can."

He nods. "Have been and will keep doing so, but do you really think these kids can win the war you say will happen?" With that point made, he walks back towards the elevator. "Hey..." He stops and turns his head back towards her. "Later on, how about the three of us hang out sometime, without talking about work? Been too long since the three of us talked about something other than this..."

After he left, Salem was left contemplating what he said. "Win a war... I hope they'll never have to."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In Beacon's library, Team RWBY was spending time together, playing a board/card game that only Ruby and Yang remembered the name to. Blake was left utterly dumbfounded at what was supposed to happen, while Weiss was bored out of her mind.

The fighting seemed to be mainly between the sisters, Blake not knowing when to do anything and Weiss, again, didn't care enough to pay attention.

"Trap card!"

"Enough with your stupid trap cards!"

The war waged on.

Meanwhile, Team JNPR sat at another table nearby, doing their own activities. Jaune was reading out of a textbook... Which hid a copy of "X-Ray and Vav" between book-ends. Pyrrha was balancing a pencil beneath her nose. Ren had been on his scroll, checking out a recent post. Nora managed to get Ren's attention and show him something on her scroll. Saph was on a nearby computer, looking up whatever info she could.

Weiss was almost drifting off when Ruby's voice caught her attention. "Hey, Weiss!"

"Huh?" Weiss looks back up to see Yang comforting Blake about... something. Oh, right, they were playing a game. "Oh, right. Sooooo... What am I supposed to do, again?"

Ruby seemed almost excited to explain. "You're playing as Vacuo, trying to conquer Remnant and become queen of the world!" She exclaims dramatically, going completely over Weiss' head.

"... Right."

Ren walks over to the group, curious as to what exactly was happening. "Hello, everyone. What are you playing?"

Yang looks over to him. "Hey, Ren. We're playing a board game where you pretty much try to take over the world. I'd invite you, but we already have a full game, sorry." She says while looking over her resources.

He didn't seem too bothered by this. "It's quite alright."

Blake didn't hesitate to butt in. "Besides, we're trying to keep a fair game going, with you in it might as well be a three person game."

Ren wasn't offended, and instead took it as a challenge. "Is that so? I'll have you know that my parents are veterans! I know more than a few things about military tactics." He says confidently. "Can I at least play your hand for a turn?"

Blake vehemently shakes her head. "I'm not trusting anyone else with my citizens!"

"Please? You trusted me with Weiss' secret, right? About her being fa-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Nora spontaneously appeared beside him and covered his mouth. "-un loving girl whom we all love and respect very much!" She ended the sentence nodding vigorously.

Weiss looked at them all with an incredibly annoyed look. Ren was just left confused, weren't they the only ones in the library right now?

Knowing the situation got awkward, he dropped his previous request. "Never mind then, I won't keep you four from your duel. May the best woman win." He gives a small bow, before returning to his table.

Just as he left, another team leader joined the group. Adam walked over to them, Arslan by his side. "Hey, guys."

Everyone at the table greeted them. Adam motioned to his second-in-command. "I realize I never introduced you guys to my friend, Arslan."

Arslan steps forward and gives a small wave. "Hey guys." She takes a quick look around and raises an eyebrow. "You guys... Hang out in the library a lot? None of you seem to be reading much."

Arc raises his voice to catch their attention. "I know, right?"

Adam just shrugs before moving on. "I was hoping to introduce you guys to our other two teammates, but they couldn't make it." He explains.

Blake nods before addressing Arslan. "So, Arslan, where are you from?"

"I'm from Vacuo, just like Adam." Taking a step towards Blake, she then leans on the table. "I'm sorry, but I never caught your name."

Surprised, but not uncomfortable, she replies. "Uhm... It's Blake. Blake Belladona."

As the two began to converse, Adam talks to Weiss. "I've seen this game a few times before, you play?"

Weiss seemed annoyed at something, and she puts down her hand. "Yeah, well, I was just about to excuse myself. I'll see you guys later." She gets up and leaves, confusing everyone in the room. What was suddenly bugging her?

Pyrrha just shrugs. "Women."

Everyone looks at her next, not sure how to respond.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weiss sat in her dorm, contemplating the night of the attempted Dust robbery.

 _'_ _My brothers and sisters, why are you working under a corrupt human such as this?!'_

 _'Their terrorists, hun, and terrorists need weapons. I'm just helping them arm themselves.'_

These thoughts then went to their natural conclusion her meeting with Salem.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The two sat in Salem's office, the Headmistress holding a cup of tea. "Well, this has been an exciting night, wouldn't you agree?" The question was affable, but it's seriousness wasn't lost on Weiss.

She didn't want to give much away, so she tried to stay vague. "Hm."

Salem continues. "This has no doubt been an exhausting evening for you, and I know you probably wish to return to your dorm for the night. However, I was hoping to talk to you about what has transpired tonight."

She gave a chance for Weiss to respond by taking another sip of tea. "... I'll tell you what I know." The woman in white answers.

Salem nods. "Great. So, in order to enroll at Beacon Academy, pass an entrance exam designed to test all aspects of your fighting capabilities. For most, they train for years in one, if not a couple, of the combat schools throughout the world... But you are an exception." She points out, Weiss tensing slightly at the remark.

"You managed to passed the combat exams without any trouble, and yet your transcript says you've never entered any other combat school. Is this correct?"

Weiss nods. "I lived outside the kingdoms. You learn how to fight early on." She says, so calmly and routinely, as if she had rehearsed that line a hundred times before.

Salem leans on her cane. "Well, it seems you have had a good teacher. I am proud to have students like you in my school, Weiss. Beacon needs people from all walks of life, whether they be rich, poor... kind, cruel... human..." She takes another sip of her tea. "... Faunus."

Weiss knew there was no avoiding it, Salem was on to her.

"So, Weiss... I know that being yourself isn't always the easiest thing to do, but why hide that aspect of yourself so vehemently? Why hide who you are?"

Weiss wasn't very kind in response. "I know you are tolerant of faunus, Professor Salem... But I'm not willing to accept humanity yet, or let humanity judge me for what I am, instead of who I am."

Salem nods in acknowledgement. "I understand, but I do hope you realize that we are striving towards co-existence."

"No offense, Headmistress, but humanity needs to work faster. Until then, I'd rather people not pay attention to what I am." Weiss explains.

"Oh? And what are you?" She asks, catching Weiss off guard.

"W-What? I don't..." She starts, but is unable to finish her sentence.

Salem doesn't hesitate to begin explaining. "I'm just saying, it's very fortunate that you were at the shipyard of all places when the White Fang struck."

Weiss just shook her head. "I guess I was at the right place at the right time."

Salem clicks her tongue, not convinced. "I see. How convenient."

She stared down the young warrior, probing for answers. "Ms. Schnee, I'll have you know that while I may be the head of this academic institution, that doesn't mean I am not just as capable as those who graduate here. It is my job to protect this world from those who would plot against it."

She pauses to allow her words to sink in. "So..." She starts, Weiss' gaze unwavering. "Is there anything you would like to tell me? Think about your answer carefully."

Silence prevailed as the two sized up the other. Weiss didn't show any signs of backing down. "No, I'm pretty sure I've gotten everything off my chest."

Salem remained silent, deciding her next course of action. "Very well then." She rises from her chair, picking up her cane and prepares to leave. "You are dismissed, Ms. Schnee." She sighs, and her expression softens.

"If you are ever in need of assistance... You just have to ask."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weiss was ripped from her thoughts as the door to the dorm opened, and the rest of Team RWBY walked in.

"Ugh! Why did you have to invite Ren?!" Blake growled, stomping through the room. Yang just chuckled. "You're just mad he beat you~!"

"If you had just held on to your resources you would have survived..."

As the siblings bickered, Weiss began to walk to the door, hoping to go by unnoticed. She reached for the doorknob.

"Weiss."

She got caught.

The interaction caught Ruby and Yang's attention, and soon all eyes were on Weiss as Blake called her out.

Sternly, the cat faunus addresses her teammate. "Recently, you've been actively avoiding talking to or even being around us. I get that you like to be alone, it's kind of your shtick, but you promised us that you would let us help you if anything ever bothered you."

Her calm demeanor suddenly broke as she quickly swiped a chair in front of herself. As she leaped on top of the chair Blake adopted a dramatic pose, pointing at Weiss with vigor. "I, QUEEN OF ATLAS, COMMAND YOU TO TELL US WHAT'S BOTHERING YOU!"

Blake's sudden outburst silenced everyone in the room. The silence also served as a reminder for Blake about her current position. She quickly hopped off the chair and returned it to it's original position in the room, before returning her attention to Weiss.

Weiss closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. "I just... Don't understand why you all are so calm about all of this. Hei Xiong is out there... and the White Fang is clearly getting stronger! And we haven't even seen anyone else do something about this!"

Yang steps forward. "But... Salem told us to let the cops handle this. I mean, we're just students! We shouldn't be handling something this serious, right?"

Weiss didn't seem to be convinced in the slightest. "The people in the Fang are just as young as us! They're teaching kids like us how to hate! How to use that hate to hurt others! They're turning these people into fanatics! The authorities around here just don't understand that!" She reasons, her features showing a fear almost like panic.

Yang and Ruby look at each other, not sure what to do. After a moment, Blake raises a point. "I know how dangerous the White Fang is, trust me, I do. Which is all the more reason we should hang back on this. They are strong, too strong for us to really make a difference. We're not ready to-"

"We'll never be ready!" Weiss yells, much to everyone's surprise. "What they're capable of is something we'll never be ready for- Nothing can be ready for what they're plotting. Right now, they're thinking on what to do next, how to spread fear, and we don't know what it is! We have to be proactive in stopping them, we can't wait until graduation day!"

Ruby suddenly got excited, seemingly inspired by Weiss' speech. "I'm in! Let's go kick some butt!"

Yang was lost in thought. "I'm worried about them, too... Alright, as long as we're careful about this, I think we can make a difference. I'm in." She resolves.

The three look at Blake, who stood in surprise. "I... But..." Eventually she groans in exasperation. "Fine. I've been meaning to pay those jerks back, anyways. I'm in."

The team in agreement, Ruby excitedly declares: "Alright! The operation to bring down the White Fang Syndicate commences!" She says as she punches the air in front of her.

Yang is about to say something before she realizes something somewhat important. "Uhhhhh, before we start that..."

"What's wrong?" Blake asks.

"Forgot the game in the library! Be back in a minute!" Before anyone else could say anything about it, Yang dashes out of the dorm and into the hallway. Unfortunately she didn't make it two steps out into the hallway before she met a solid object. Falling onto her back, she knows immediately what happened.

"Ugh... Sorry! I should have looked where I was going!" She says quickly. She looks up to see a student with auburn hair.

"It's fine, just watch where you're going next time, alright?"

Yang looks between the two students, noticing their uniforms. "Oh, are you guys here for the festival?"

A third student joins the group, wearing the same uniform. Her hair was platinum blonde, and she wore a pair of thin-rimmed glasses. "That we are. We seem to be a bit lost at the moment, and we could use some help getting to our dorms, if you would be so kind. We're from Haven, if that helps."

"Haven, huh? Your guys' dorms are in the East Wing building." Yang explains, happy to help. "I'm Yang, by the way."

Yang holds out her hand to shake hands with the student, who reciprocated.

"Glynda."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: This chapter took a bit long than what I thought it would. Seriously, it felt like each major scene had some sort of writer's block...**

 **I recently took the time to change how people addressed Ren back to... Well, Ren. Nobody's calling him Lie anymore! I went through all the chapters and ret-conned all references to him to how people call him in the show. I know some people didn't like how I was writing his first name for the fic, and I wasn't really happy with it myself. Glad I went back and fixed it!**

 **With that cleared up, let's read some reviews!**

 **GrimmDzzzy:** for anyone or MiraculousPinkNinja who thinks Ren surname is Lie, remember! Our cultures doesn't exist in Remnant, despite Ren's clothing in the anime. so calling him Lie Ren makes sense in Remnant, Jaune though... Yeah.  
other than that, Neptune as Mercury and Vernal as Emerald killing Leo as Tukson. ok then. good chapter though. and Adam being happy or excited... feels weird but its a character swap.

 **That IS an interesting point. We have to consider what their culture on Remnant is... But I still decided to change it back to Ren, anyways. It was a weird decision.  
**

 **And on the subject of Jaune, there is a real reason he goes by his last name, and I was hoping to place that reason in one of the paralogues for Team JNPR that explains it, but I was never able to fit it in. I'm hoping to make a reveal for it, but it's such a small plot point that if you want to hear it, I could tell you over a private message.**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Very cool and funny 't worry about the fight,while the thing about half faunus still seems uselles given Faunus' as you said is your Story. Good work.

 **Thanks again! I've been thinking on rewriting the part that mentions Weiss' heritage slightly, to make more sense in what I'm planning and to fix the error.**

 **Royal2:**

Good chapter man can't wait for the next on. Is cinder the fall maiden?

 **Nope, someone else is the Fall Maiden right now. Cinder has been swapped somewhere else.  
**

 **MatarasBloodKnight:**

Poor ren  


I'm liking this story more and more. But their is one thing Nora has to die.

 **Don't say that! I don't want to cross that road until we get to it... ;_;  
**

 **Thank you all for reading, and see you next chapter!**


	21. Chapter 13: A Minor Hiccup

**Chapter 13: A Minor Hiccup**

It was 3:59 P.M. In Vale at the moment, and all the students in Professor Rainart's class knew it. Everyone stared at the clock, waiting for it to be 4:00 so the school day could be over. Nobody bothered to listen to the stories the Professor was reciting, they had heard hundreds already. As he recalled his thirteenth tale of the day, Ren leaned over to Blake in an attempt to start a conversation.

"Hello, Blake. I, uh, was wondering if you wanted to go to that new park that just opened up?" He asks, hopeful.

Silence was his answer.

"Oh, and I just bought two tickets to that new Spruce Willis movie, Arc recommended it to me. Do you wish to join?"

Nothing.

Ren tried thinking of something else. "Or, if you want, we could just... study. That test is on Friday, after all."

After he said that the clock finally hit 4:00 and the bell sounded off, much to the relief of the class. As Blake packed her things and began to leave, Ren tried to get her attention one more time.

"Uhh, do you want to do anything today?" He asks quickly.

Without even sparing him a sideways glance she replies: "No, no, no, and no."

Blake exits, leaving Ren depressed in his seat. The rest of Team RWBY walks past, with Ruby offering a reassuring hand on the shoulder. "You'll get her next time."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

With the day over, the team suits up for the night ahead. The goal was to try and find a lead towards recent White Fang activity. Each wore thicker clothes to prepare for the colder weather.

Weiss sighs. "Mr. Rainart's stories are always so long..."

Yang hops off her bed and looks around the room. "All right, everybody! We all ready to stop a terrorist organization?"

Blake rolls her eyes. "Is it really appropriate to be acting so cheerful? This is pretty serious..."

Ruby pops her head into view from the top bunk. "Hey, we're being super-serial! Besides, being gloomy about it won't help anything." She reasons. Blake just shrugs.

"All right! Let's go over the plan one more time." Yang says, pointing to Blake.

"We'll visit the CCT tower in the city and see if I can find any more information about any Dust robberies. I should be able to get in without a fuss."

"Alright. Weiss?"

"The White Fang holds faction meetings regularly to recruit new members and give out orders. If I can sneak in, then we'll have an idea of what their planning."

"Cool! And Ruby?"

"I got a pal on the shady side of town that pretty much knows everything going on around here. If I ask nicely, I'm pretty sure he'll talk."

With the plan down, the team seems ready to act. Yang is the first to speak. "Okay! Now that we got our plan down-pat we can- Wait a sec! Ruby, where in the world-"

Yang was cut off as a knock resounded from their door. They all look at each other in confusion before Blake answers the door. As she opens it up a head of crimson hair greets her. At his side was a human lioness.

"Hey, guys." Adam says as he waves to them from the hallway. "What's up?" Arslan follows up, seemingly in a good mood.

Team RWBY gives a somewhat generic hello, while Weiss herself gave a warmer reception. "Hey Adam, Arslan. What are you guys doing here?"

"We came by to see if any of you guys wanted to hang out today... Something going on?" Arslan asks, noticing the new outfits.

Team RWBY all look at each other, pondering on whether or not to tell them. Weiss speaks up. "We should let them know, they have experience in this sort of thing."

Yang nods. "Alright." She turns to the two in Team TANK, who seemed mildly confused. "We 're going to try and see whether or not we can bust the White Fang operations in Vale."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

They all discussed their roles in the operation. Most of the plan had been solidified, but a few matters were still on the table.

Yang was trying to arrange teams still. "All right, soooo... I'll go with Blake, and then... Adam can go with Weiss, and then Arslan can go with Ruby! We all done with teams?"

Blake speaks up quickly. "Wait, I was wondering... Maybe I could go with Ars-"

"Good! Let's go!" Her patience having run dry minutes ago, Yang grabbed Blake and ran out the door before Blake could protest. The four others are left in mild surprise.

"Well then..." Weiss says. "... Let's get started!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Yang and Blake were traveling the city of Vale, making their way to the CCT Tower. As they neared their destination, they walked out of the street and into the lot of the tower. The massive tower seemed to explode into view, swallowing the nearby buildings into it's gargantuan shadow.

Yang certainly seemed impressed. She gives a drawn out whistle. "Geez, looking at the top of the tower from here is almost dizzying..."

Blake almost seemed to take that as a compliment. "The tower in Atlas is even taller."

"That was the first one, right?" Yang asks, genuinely interested.

"Mm-hm. After the Great War, Atlas supplied the Cross-Continental Transmit tower to provide world-wide communication. It's helped a lot with political relations." Blake explains, happy to show off her knowledge.

Yang goes silent for a second, thinking about the other towers. "I wonder what the other towers look like?"

Blake just shrugs. "Probably not that different from this one. Speaking of which, you probably won't be able to visit the top floors without a reservation, so..."

Yang quickly turns her head towards her friend. "Wait, what? Then how can you-"

She didn't finish her thought as she saw a familiar figure walking through the square. A figure wearing a red cloak...

"Uh, that's fine! See you later!" Yang runs towards the familiar figure.

"What- Yang!" Blake calls out, only to fall on deaf ears. She sighs. "Ugh, fine..." She turns and walks into the communications tower.

Yang closed the difference between her and her focus in a matter of seconds.

"Fennec!"

The young man in question turns his head towards the sound of his name, surprised to see his friend show up there. "Y-Yang! H-Hello!"

Yang, who was relieved to see him safe after the fight at the docks, was still worried to hear how nervous he sounded. "Where have you been? I was so worried about you! You just disappeared after the White Fang fight and-"

"I'm sorry Yang, but I really have somewhere to be!"

The statement felt like a punch to the gut. ' _How could he just ignore me like that?'_ "What?"

 _Hiccup!_

The hiccup from Fennec momentarily confuses Yang, and in the moment of silence he turns around and goes on his way. Yang chases after him.

"Wait! Fennec!"

"I'm sorry, Yang, I really am busy right now." _Hiccup!_ He increased the pace of his step, as if he was running from something.

"Fennec- Stop!" She runs over and grabs his arm. "Please! I don't know what's going on, what happened after you left? Where did you go? Were you hurt? Did the White Fang get you? Please, you have to tell me! We think those people at the docks are planning something really bad, and I need you to tell me what happened. Please... As a friend."

Yang speech causes some conflict in Fennec. He stares at the pavement, not sure what to do. He slowly looks up towards Yang, guilt in his eyes. He sighs, and speaks. "I'm... taking a walk, I guess you could say. Do you... wish to join me? I can explain as we walk."

Yang gives a small nod. "Yeah, sure."

Fennec quickly nods back, obviously still nervous. "Thank you."

The two leave for someplace more private, Yang hoping to put some fears to rest.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Blake had made her way inside the tower,walking over to the elevator to go to the top floor. She entered to center room, which consisted of a room surrounded by a cylinder of walls. In the center was a pillar surrounded by terminals, students from the other kingdoms were all using them to talk to people back home.

The elevator was on the opposite side of the room. Blake entered, and the door closes behind her.

A voice plays on the intercom.

 _Hello. Welcome to the CCT. How may I help you?_

Blake responds with a bored, monotone voice. "Communications room, please."

 _Absolutely. Could you please place your scroll on the terminal to verify your identity._

Blake pulls her scroll from her pocket and holds it in front of the pad. A few seconds later a beep sounded out, and the automated voice responded.

 _Perfect. Thank you Miss Belladonna._

She felt the elevator shift, and the running of cables as the steel box rose. As it ascended and sped towards it's destination, she wore various fake smiles in an attempt to look dignified for the employees. She was happy with none of them.

The doors open, and as she walks out she is faintly surprised by how many people had reserved a terminal for today. She walks up to the front desk, where the hologram of a receptionist seemingly stood there to answer her.

Seeing Blake on her monitor, the receptionist smiles. "Welcome to the Beacon Cross-Continental Transmit Center. How may I help you?"

Blake responds with the most genuine and polite smile she could give in that moment. "I have to make a call to the Belladonna Company World Headquarters in Atlas."

The receptionist gives a nod and looks to her keypad. "Absolutely. If you could head over to Terminal 3. I'll patch you through."

"Thank you." Blake says quickly. She walks over to the designated terminal and takes a seat. As she does so, she notices that most of the people here were students, just like downstairs. To think it would be this busy on the top floor...

A beep sounds off from the screen, and a video transmission of a faunus woman answered. Her curved horns seemed to indicate her as a ram faunus.

"Thank you for calling the Atlas- oh, Miss Belladonna! Good afternoon." Pleasantly surprised by the call of the daughter of the Belladonna's, the polite smile the receptionist wore was replaced by a genuine one. Blake always did her best to be nice to the employees, and she was rewarded with a similarly warm response.

"Would you like me to patch you through to your father? I think your sister might be here as well." She asks, already preparing the call.

Blake politely declines. "That won't be necessary. I was hoping you could pull some corporate files for me. I have a list on my scroll." She pulls out her scroll, and holds it in front of her.

She inserts it into a slot in the terminal, and the data transfers over to the computer in Atlas.

She looks over the list, raising a single eyebrow. "I see... If you don't mind, what may I ask is this for?"

"A school research project." Blake says smoothly, in a perfectly innocent voice.

The secretary's smile drops slightly, concern evident on her features. "Um, there are some sensitive documents on this list, ma'am."

"I'll be sure to be careful, then." Blake says, a hint firmness in her voice.

"Right..." She responds slowly, not entirely sure about this. "Very well. The data is being transferred to your scroll now."

A small beep indicates that the download was complete, and she takes the scroll from it's slot. "Thank you, that's all."

She quickly tries to get Blake's attention again. "Are you sure you wouldn't like me to patch you through to your father before you go?"

A slight wince from Blake was the only thing that betrayed her emotions. "I'm sure. Thank you."

Giving a nod, the secretary says her goodbyes. "Well then, have a nice day."

"You, too." Blake says quickly as the screen faded to black. The message was over and with all eyes off of her, she lets her smile drop, finally revealing her true feelings.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Outside a store in Vale, Fennec stood waiting for someone. He wore a worried expression, as if anxious about something. He nearly jumped when he felt someone touch his shoulder, only to turn and see Yang. She gave him a nonchalant grin to help lighten the mood. It seemed to work, as he could feel the tension in him ease slightly.

As they walked towards the park, they talked about the fateful White Fang encounter. "I wish I could help, Yang..." Fennec explained, at a loss. "But I don't know anything about these 'White Fang'."

Yang was fine with that answer, but she still worried. "Okay, but what happened after the fight was over? Where did you go? You just sorta... disappeared."

Fennec took a moment to wonder how to explain. His thoughts slowly translated into words, as if he was processing too much. "My, ah, father picked me up, I guess you could say. I haven't really been outside my home very often, my father forbid it. But that's not to say he's not a good man! He just... worries a little too much."

Yang nods in understanding. "Trust me, I get you."

Fennec smiles, happy that he has a friend like Yang.

"But," Yang continues. "If you were okay, couldn't you have told us?"

He looks away, again not sure how he should phrase what he needed to say. He seemed... guilty. "I... was asked to cease communication with you. And your team... Essentially anyone that wasn't a close friend of the family."

The explanation caused Yang to worry for a different reason. "Really? Your dad was _that_ mad?"

Fennec shakes his head. "No... It wasn't my father that asked us that."

Before he could explain further, a loud voice caught their attention. It resounded from the city square. "... The AK130 has been the standard security model for several years now, and I don't know about the next guy, but I think they've done a fine job up until now."

Yang and Fennec turn the corner from the street they were on. As they entered the square, Fennec takes a step back, for some reason hesitant. The voice originated from a stage that had been erected for a demonstration.

A crowd surrounded the stage, excited that they were getting a glimpse of another nation's achievements. On stage was a holographic project of a young man with silver hair, Atlesian general Mercury Black. Behind him were several deactivated AK130 security bots, and directly behind them were a few transport containers.

He continued. "However, our people back home in Atlas aren't content to leave it at 'fine'."

When he says this, the storage units behind the security bots opened in front. Newer, more powerful versions of the bots walked out, knocking over the old models.

"Presenting..." Mercury says, giving a small bow. "... the Atlesian Knight 200."

The crowd bursts into applause. Mercury nods and gives the crowd a second to observe before continuing. "More intelligent, more sophisticated, and, I'll admit, a little less scary." He gives the bots a quick glance before giving an aside comment to the crowd. "I mean, look at those things, they're terrifying..."

The crow resounds in laughter. "The Atlesian Knight will be in active duty later this year, but they won't be out there alone. The military has always believed we must constantly work to reduce the danger soldiers face on the battlefield. We would like to remove our soldiers altogether... but, sometimes, a human mind is undoubtedly needed."

"Yang..." Fennec says. Yang was entranced by the showcase, and couldn't quite hear him.

"So," Mercury continued. "In collaboration with the Belladonna Dust Corporation, we are proud to introduce..."

He pauses for effect. "... The Atlesian Paladin!"

His holographic image disappears, replaced by the image of a giant metal automaton. The image was as large as the stage, and stood nearly a story tall. It was outfitted with a myriad of modern weaponry, and was made from top-quality steel.

The crowd broke out into applause, not one person in the crowd was unimpressed.

"We couldn't bring any real ones for you today, but these mechanized battle suits will be ready to protect our borders from Grimm within a year!" Mercury announces, obviously proud of their accomplishment.

Yang stood with her jaw nearly hitting the floor. In spite of the impressive presentation, Fennec just seemed to be even more nervous than before. "Ruby... maybe we should go..."

Yang didn't seem to notice, but someone else did. Near the stage, two guards from Atlas looked at Fennec. One tapped the intercom next to his ear and said something before the two began running towards the two of them.

"We should go! Now!" Fennec says quickly, turning tail and running into a nearby alleyway.

"What- Wait!" Yang quickly notices the two guards, and realizing something wasn't right she chased after Fennec. The two make a turn, and run out of the alleyway and across the street, quickly ducking into another alleyway. One guard manages to get sight on the two again.

"Down here, he went this way." His cohort catches up, and the two run the same path they did, quickly running into the street-

 _Beeeeeeeep!_

A car barely manages to brake in time not to run the one guard over. Even so, the car bashes him in the gut slightly, stopping him in his tracks. The other guard stops for a second to check his friend, only for him to motion him onward. The second guard continues the chase.

Yang looked behind her, seeing that she managed to stop one goon in their tracks. She looked forwards, seeing that Fennec had managed to put some distance between them. As she surveyed the area for anything else to stop the guard behind her, she notices a convenient wooden structure supporting a load of boxes...

As she runs past the legs of the structure she draws her katana, slicing all four legs at once. She noticed at the last second that the boxes were labeled 'BREAKABLE THINGS'. Hearing the crashing and shattering of boxes behind her, she feels a flash of guilt as she continued to run.

In a burst of speed, she managed to catch up to Fennec and get his attention. Grabbing his hand, she turns a corner into a brightly lit area. The sun suddenly in her eyes, she was blinded for half of a second. She just kept running.

 _Hoooooonk!_

Time seemed to slow down as she turned to the noise. The sun. The sun had blinded her. They had run out of the alleyway onto another street. To her left was a large delivery truck, barreling towards her and Fennec.

Before she could fully process this, she felt herself get thrown aside. From her peripheral vision she could see Fennec shoving her off the road. Fractions of a second passed by as if they were hours as she watched the truck inch towards her friend.

He turns instantly and grabs the grill of the truck as if it was the horns of a bull. The truck smashes against him, but as he dug his heels into the pavement it was the truck, not Fennec, that gives way. As if he was an immovable object, the truck is stopped in it's tracks, and yet the sheer energy transferred from the impact cause the truck to be thrown a few feet in the air before landing back on it's wheels.

Everything suddenly seemed to stand still. Fennec looks up at the driver's seat window, where the bewildered driver sat. "Are you hurt?!" He yells, letting go of the truck. The old man slowly nods as he sat terrified in his seat.

Yang slowly rises from the ground, terrified and bewildered from the past few moments. She stared at the faunus, a man who was seemingly full of surprises, and didn't quite know what to think.

"Fennec...?"

He looks at his hands, and seems to realize something startling, since he clenches his fists afterwards. A crowd starts to form around the crash, whispers started circling around.

"Did you see that?"

"Do you think he's okay?"

Fennec panics, and runs from the scene. Yang runs after him again, not letting him go yet. As they left the two Atlas guards caught up, but they were unable to renew their chase with the crowd blocking their path.

"Fennec, wait!"

The fox faunus eventually reaches an alley far enough away that the guards couldn't find him. Yang has more luck, having managed to keep up with him to this point. As she reached him, her questions began anew.

"Fennec!" The faunus in question swings around to look at Yang, not having expected her to catch up. "Please, Fennec! You have to tell me what's going on! Why are we running from those guys? How were you able to stop a truck?!"

His panic seems to run even deeper as he starts looking around, as if he's trying to escape Yang. "I-I-I'm telling you everything I know! (Hiccup) I-I don't want to talk about it! (Hiccup)"

Yang steps closer to Fennec. "Please... If you tell me, I promise I can help you! I just need to know what's going on!" She implores, her argument causing him to turn away in guilt.

"I can't! I'm not allowed to talk about it! You wouldn't understand!"

Yang grabs Fennec's clutched hand, literally grabbing his attention and forcing him to turn and face her. "Even if I don't, then I'll still help you! I don't care what it is, Fennec. No matter what it is, nothing will stop me being your friend _,_ so you don't have to worry. You can _trust_ me" She reassures, trying to help her friend the only way she knew how.

Fennec hesitates before closing his eyes, and asking: "You see me as a person, right? You don't think I'm any different than anyone else, right?"

Yang takes a deep breath and answers. "Of course your my friend. I mean... you're a lot different from a lot of people I know, but that's fine. I happy that you're different, I'm happy that you're a little awkward. You're true to yourself, which makes you a much better person than a lot of people out there."

Fennec seems to calm down slightly, and opens his eyes again. He still seemed to dread what he was about to say, however. "Yang..." He opens his hands, each one with it's skin torn, revealing metal and wires, instead of tissue and veins.

"... I'm not a real boy."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: Hey, everyone! It's almost that time of the year, so I'd like to take a second and say...**

 *** Happy Holidays! ***

 **I hope you all have a wonderful weekend with friends and family, and make sure to shoot a call to anyone who couldn't join!  
**

 **zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz**

 **Let's read some reviews! (Btw, quick question for all the other writers... Anybody else listen to "Beneath the Mask" on repeat while writing?)  
**

 **Lord of Memory:**

Interesting so if glynda is this worlds cinder then ironwood would take mercurys place but who would take emeralds place. Great update keep up the good work

 **Thanks! Actually, Neptune takes Mercury's place, and Mercury takes Ironwood's place. Also, Vernal took Emerald's place.**

 **Royal2:**

Ok, did cinder swap with Emerald than? Good chapter man BTW.

 **Thanks! Emerald actually takes Glynda's place in the show. Glynda takes Cinder's place, and Vernal takes Emerald's place.  
**

 **GrimmDzzzy:**

Finall-*Enter Mercury Black as Ironwood* Kill me.  
But seriously though, I forgot about Mercury and where he was going to be replacing with. Is Ironwood replacing Leo in Haven?

 **Actually, the ENTIRE reason I made Emerald Salem's right hand woman in this scenario instead of Cander was for this interaction! As soon as I thought of it I couldn't stop laughing, and here we are!  
**

 **As for Ironwood, I can't disclose anything yet, but I will say that him replacing Leo is a good guess, and not a bad idea!**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Great chapter, dude, always glad to see how you balance the switched roles and new personality, can't wait to see whath changes this will take, also since Mercury seems more reasonable and rigorous than Ironwood. Also checked Weiss's heritage, yes, a birth defect sounds very right. See you soon.

 **I wouldn't say that Mercury is more rigorous, but instead more humorous. He's generally more casual and prone to crack jokes. When push come to shove, though, he has more of a drive to do what he thinks he needs to. Aside from that, thanks for confirming my new idea for Weiss, good to know I didn't get something else wrong!  
**

 **Shiranai Atsune:**

SSSQQQUUUEEE! A NEW UPDATE! I LOVE ROLESWAPS! I LOVE THIS FIC!

 **Thanks! I'll be writing this for as long as the show goes on, so buckle in!  
**

 **DarkDevilKnight:**

Oh boy, I am liking how this story goes but I'm gonna send this one thing to MatarasBloodKnight about the previous review.

Why did you have to remind us about ?! It was sad enough about Pyrrha but to sweet adorabe Nora?! No hoho!

 **It's okay... We'll make it through this...**

 **therandompers:**

Wonder if Cinder took Oscar's place, cause the the rest of the not-currently-evil-trio was introduced in this.

Also, to continue with my family dynamic question from earlier, since canonically Blake's parents seem to be great people. Does that mean Swapped Weiss' parents are also good people? What about her siblings as well?

Also also, speaking of nora being plot doomed, who is going to be involved in the weirdo deus ex machina plot point that was never explained? Cause Yang is Ruby in this and Ruby is Yang

 **Can't say who Cinder is in this universe right now. Just gonna say that it's probably the weirdest one.**

 **The family character traits will be revealed once they're episodes are written, but I will say that Blake has to have a reason to go to the lengths she does to leave.**

 **For the 'silver eyes' scene I have an idea of what Yang will do, but I will confirm that she doesn't have any kind of silver eyes. (Speaking of which, for everyone who saw V6 EP7, who else thinks the Grimm Reaper design is AMAZING?! Especially the Day of the Dead asthetic!)**

 **Thank you all for reading and have an amazing holiday!**


	22. Chapter 14: Painting the Town

**Chapter 14: Painting the Town...**

Things suddenly seemed so much quieter. Yang stood in shock as she stared at Fennec's hands, cold steel revealing itself under his 'skin'. Fennec waited with baited breath for a response to his confession.

Yang shakes her head. "Fennec... W-What? H-How..."

Fennec pulls his hands away, looking at Yang and yet not really looking at her, more like looking at the empty space in front of her. "Some boys are born... but I was made." He seems to become a bit calmer, more willing to explain.

As he truly looks at her, a mysterious and almost unreadable look is washed over his features. "I'm the world's first synthetic person capable of generating an Aura."

"I..." He looks away, not quite sure what else to say. "They said I could change the world... But I'm not real. I'm just a machine."

Silence emerges between the two, a silence that was unsure and unwelcome. There was many things that needed to be said, but neither of them knew how to say them.

Instead, Yang reaches out for his hands again, much to his reluctance. He attempts to pull away, but Yang's grip was firm, yet gentle. Like a mother trying to look at a child's wound, she stubbornly held him in place until he would reveal his hands once more.

Yang looks back up at Fennec with an expression he had to take a moment to decipher. It became fairly obvious that she was essentially waiting for his permission to look at his hands. Reluctantly, his fists un-clenched and his fingers unraveled, allowing Yang to see the scratched-up metal that was previously hidden.

Holding his hands in her own, both sets of palms pointing upwards, she analyzed the now visible rivets, the slots in the metal that allowed his fingers to move, the places where the artificial skin separated from the metal. As she looked, she let her thumbs glide across the alloy, feeling each dent and scratch caused from the earlier incident. During this, she contemplated what this meant for their friendship. A small smile ran across her face.

It didn't take long to find her answer.

"Just because you're a machine... you think you're any less real than anyone else?"

Fennec is taken aback by this question, leaving him without a substantial answer. "Well, I mean, biologically speaking I'm... I-I really expected a different reaction." He admits sheepishly.

Yang only seemed to smile wider. "You might not have any blood in you, or any veins to pump it with, but I know for a fact that you have a heart and a soul _._ You're not just some mindless thing following someone else's bidding, you're a person! You're _you!_ "

Fennec's demeanor gradually changed from confusion, to realization, and finally to elation. Quickly and suddenly wrapping her in a hug, he made sure to show the lengths of his gratitude.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I knew you were the best friend ever!"

"Alright, alright! Come 'ere!" Yang returns the embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist in a hug _so_ fierce that it picked him up off the ground. His feet dangled almost a foot of the ground, although he didn't mind.

"Huh, for a robot, I thought you'd be heavier." Yang thinks aloud, causing him to laugh a little.

"Well... You might just be stronger than you think."

Yang lets him down, and the two share a moment of relief and understanding.

"No matter what happens-" Yang said, golden hair providing what looked like a halo around her. "- we'll always be friends!"

Fennec nods enthusiastically. "Yes! Always! Yang, thank you! This means a lot to me!"

"And to me as well."

The two swing around to see a third person standing there, his presence having gone unnoticed until now.

Corsaic stood there, highly amused at their mutual shock. "So, this is where you have been, little brother. I thought I heard a commotion earlier..."

"What- How long have you-" Yang's question had to wait, as Fennec quickly approached his brother and began to plead with him.

"Brother, I can explain! She's my friend, and I- We- I-I-I didn't tell her about us being robots, I swear!"

Corsaic raises an eyebrow, and Fennec instantly realizes the problem with his argument. "Well, if she didn't know before she does now, and I am pretty sure she knew before..."

Before Fennec could come up with any other excuse, Corsaic approached Yang and held out his hand. "Ms. Xiao Long." Confused, she quickly realizes what he was doing, and apprehensively shakes his hand.

"I would like to thank you for being friends with my brother. Our... unique situation prevents much opportunity to socialize. It means a lot to the both of us." He says kindly.

"Uh... Y-Yeah, sure! Fennec's a pretty cool guy..." Yang honestly didn't know what else to say. Corsaic, through no conscious effort of his own, seemed to have almost complete control over the conversation.

Still holding on to Yang's hand, his tone seemed to shift. It was almost unnoticeable, but he seemed to get a bit tenser. "Now... I _do_ hope that you keep this whole matter about us quiet. You must know the lengths my dear brother has gone through to keep it a secret. Can I trust that you will exercise that same caution?"

It was obvious by his tone that he didn't want to hear anything other than a definitive 'yes'.

"Yes! Totally! I-I won't say anything about it!"

Corsaic seems to relax again. "Excellent." As Corsaic finally let go of her hand, he turned to face his brother. "Now, I hate to cut this short, but I do believe that it's about time to go home..."

"Oh..." Fennec realizes, slightly crestfallen. "Yeah, that's right... Well, I'll see you again later, Yang! Goodbye!" He says as he waves.

"Alright, see ya!" Yang waves.

As the two walk away, Yang doesn't really know what to feel. Tired? Relieved? Scared? None of these seemed to accurately capture just how far out there this whole situation seemed to be.

Confusing? Definitely.

With a sigh and a shake of her head, Yang began her trek back to the CCT with the feeling that things would only get weirder from here.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

As night began to fall, the two brothers made their way through the rapidly darkening streets. Fennec was visibly worried, while Corsaic wore a solemn expression.

"Brother... You do realize Father will want to know why your late?" He asks, his gaze piercing.

"I know, and I'm sorry. It's just-"

"The guards saw you earlier, correct? They will report this to Father, as well as Ms. Xiao Long. Thankfully for you, they most likely won't know who she is. But even so, Father will most likely impose new restrictions. You understand this, yes?" He asks in a factual tone.

"... Yes..." It was a bleak answer, a depressed one. As Corsaic saw this, he couldn't help but empathize with him, even if he didn't show it.

He sighs, and begins to think. "... When we get home, just say that we were touring the city together. At some point, we got separated, and you asked a local for directions."

Fennec is pulled from his doldrums, and receives this instruction with a look of shock. "What?"

"That's our story, alright? That's what we tell Father. And if you wish to continue socializing Ms. Xiao Long... I'll see if I can't convince him to allow you into the city more often. To be left with no outside communication would be-"

The sentence stops abruptly, and for a moment it looked as if he was gazing into a void. He snaps back to the present just as abruptly.

"Quite miserable."

It took less than a second for a two-hundred pound piece of hardware to attach himself to his side in what was a very powerful hug.

"Thank you! Thank you, Brother! That would be wonderful!"

"Yes, well, you will still have to find a way to explain the damage to your hands. I'm still trying to figure out an excuse for that one..." Despite his stoic demeanor, even he felt a smile tug at his lips.

"... And, you're welcome."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Night had eclipsed on Vale, and one end of the city seemed to be completely and utterly silent. To any passerby, the only reason to come down to this side of town would be for a lone nightclub by the name of 'The Red Candle', whose music could faintly be heard thumping a block down.

The sound of something blowing in the wind, a gale ripping through the street, and a trail of rose petals disturbed the otherwise chilling silence. The speeding force stopped in front of the club abruptly, revealing Ruby in the cloud of petals as having carried Arslan to their destination.

"We're here!" Ruby yells in a chipper tune. She lets Arslan down, who was still in a daze and with her hair stuck pointed behind her. "That... was fast."

Ruby taps her head. "Super-speed! Makes walking across town a breeze."

As Arslan shook her daze off and fixed her hair, she looked at the bar in front of them. "So your guy hangs out here? Weird place for a bar... The whole place seems deserted."

Ruby puts her hands on her hips and looks at the sign. "Yeah, well my guy prefers a certain kind of customer..."

As they walk towards the entrance, Ruby turned back towards Arslan. "You know, like the shady, crime-y kind."

"Y-Yeah, I got that."

Club music blares inside the establishment, repairs from Ruby's last "visit" were just about completed, and were going to be ready for the arrival of their clients next week.

Torchwick and Neo stood upon the top floor, the same floor the DJ performed on. From there they could see the entire ground floor spread out beneath them, their goons doing the hard work of patching the place up. Boxes of repair tools and materials were being carried, and bottles of liquor were being put on the shelves. It finally seemed like they were getting back to business after weeks of delays.

Due to this optimistic nature, it was only natural that the front entrance bolted open with two panicked goons desperately closing it behind them. Torchwick could only roll his eyes. _'Of course something has to go wrong now of all times...'_

"What is it now?!"

The two guards began to talk over each other in a desperate attempt to warn the others. Unfortunately, even if they had finished speaking in time the sound of the club drowned out their voices enough so that the message was lost.

An explosion blew open the entrance behind them, throwing them to the floor. From the smoke Ruby stepped out, a grin with equal parts innocence and smugness on her face.

"Hey, guys! Miss me?"

Everyone in the club quickly draws their guns and point it at the new arrival with Ruby not fazed in the slightest. The only time she reacts is when she noticed that the previously playing music was skipping over the record. With an annoyed expression she looked up at the top stage. The DJ had learned his lesson after their last encounter, quickly cutting the music and slinking back behind the booth.

Arslan appeared from behind Ruby, causing the goons to become even more tense. "I thought you said you had a FRIEND here?" She says, somewhat uncomfortable with the current situation.

"Alright- Alright! Everyone, calm down. No shooting!" Torchwick quickly makes his way in front of the small crowd and addresses Ruby, their collective defeat to her still fresh in his mind.. "Red. You've decided to visit again."

"Yeah." Ruby says with a smirk. "Cuz' you've got the most info in town. Mind if I ask a few more questions?" She makes her way to the bar, but stops and waits for Torchwick to follow. He sighs, and begrudgingly follows.

Arslan hangs back, impressed with Ruby's bold demeanor. "Wow. She's pretty tough for someone so young..."

It was only then that she notices a petite woman with pink and gray hair standing a few feet from her. The woman gave only a respectful nod, looking at Ruby with an interested expression.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weiss and Adam prowl the darkened streets, looking out for tell-tale signs of White Fang activity. A daytime search had proven fruitless, since such a meeting in broad daylight would have been far too obvious.

Chances were much better at night, and indeed after a few hours search, Weiss came upon what seemed to be an ordinary scratch on a wall leading into an alley. Weiss motioned for Adam to come over, Adam seeing the mark afterwards.

"Bingo."

They peak around the corner, seeing two faunus approach what seemed to be a human man guarding an entrance. The man motioned the two forward, and they disappeared inside the building. Nodding to each other, the Weiss and Adam walk forward.

The man instantly allows them inside, not a word spoken as he hands them both White Fang masks. As they entered, the two ex-Fangs noticed the various shelves and tools lying around. It didn't take much for them to realize they stood in a warehouse. Turning the corner, they briefly caught sight of the two inductees they had seen enter before.

"New recruits keep to the right."

The voice of a White Fang officer could be faintly heard from further down the room. Weiss and Adam look at their masks, not all too happy at what they were about to do.

"Can't believe I gotta wear this thing, again... Isn't any less creepy than before, either..." Adam says as he puts his mask on.

"Yeah, well..." Weiss starts, irritated by her surroundings. "It makes it a lot easier to commit crimes when you can pretend you're not you." She puts on her mask.

"I know. And he had to make it Grimm, too... Sun isn't very subtle about it." Adam points out, his memories of him being very conflicted.

"Tell me about it."

Bracing themselves and trying their best to 'act normal' they make their way to the main area of the warehouse. A stream of new recruits were being guided to the right of the opening, the rest being filled with initiated White Fang. Whereas the inductees were standing around with no real sense of order, mainly walking until the person in front of you stopped, the White Fang seemed to be trying to impress the new blood by standing in a disciplined rank and file.

In front of the crowd stood a White Fang lieutenant wearing a specialized mask to indicate her rank. Among her peers, she was known as Sienna Khan. Behind her was a massive tapestry emblazoned with the White Fang symbol.

"I thank you all for coming." She says, opening her arms to the crowd.

"For those of you in the crowd who have taken the brave step in joining us here for the first time tonight, I wish to introduce to you an ally to our cause. Someone who will help us achieve our goals and our dreams."

A large man in a sharp suit walks over to her, seemingly out of place from everyone else there. But it wasn't just his attire that made him stick out from the rest of the audience, he was different in a- to them- very fundamental way.

Out of everyone there, he was the only human.

It was Hei Xiong.

Both Adam or Weiss were left clueless and in a daze at his almost unexplainable appearance. Before either could communicate to each other, boos and jeers erupted from the crowd, even among some of the soldiers. Hei Xiong seemed to take this in stride, waiting in patience until the booing subsided, occasionally nodding along as if in agreement.

One initiate's voice rang out a bit louder than the others. "What's a human doing here?!"

"Now..." Hei Xiong begins, taking a step towards the crowd. "I know I may not be the best guy to walk on this stage, but I promise that I will provide as much assistance as I can offer. And if you don't trust me, then you're using your head. I'm a human arms dealer, after all..."

As he droned on, Adam leaned over and whispered to Weiss. "Not winning much favor, is he?"

Xiong is pacing around the room in a controlled walk, talking almost as if to himself. "-So yes, I understand if you all are a bit suspicious of me... However, I didn't come here with empty promises of friendship, or some ridiculous contract that says I'll with fine print everywhere or some other nonsense like that. I came here with a..."

He pauses, trying to think of the right word for it. "Present. A birthday present! One that EVERYONE will enjoy!"

Behind Hei Xiong the White Fang banner falls, revealing a giant of steel prepared for battle. It was an Atlesian Paladin, it's paint removed and replaced with White Fang insignia. The crowd seems to forget their previous animosity in their wonder of the machine.

"This, ladies and gents, is the newest line of metal suits Atlas has been rolling out. And for once, we have some on OUR side!" At this line the crowd begins to cheer, but not so much for Hei Xiong himself as much as the firepower he was packing. Even so, he didn't seem to mind one bit.

"How in the world did he manage to get a Paladin?" Weiss furiously whispers, beginning to look for an exit.

"This is bad..." Adam replies, keeping his eyes and ears on the crime boss.

"Alright now listen up, this is important. A lot of your operatives have moved to our spot southeast. You don't need to join, but the more bodies we can get working..." He motions back to the Paladin.

"The faster we can get these things into action. So, who's in?"

Enthusiastic voices fill the warehouse as both recruits and soldiers volunteer for the assignment. The crowd starts shoving past Weiss and Adam to reach the stage, the two becoming more and more nervous.

"We need to get out of here!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"I already said, I don't know!"

Back in Torchwick's club, the man becomes increasingly frustrated as he answers a persistent Ruby. "What do you mean you don't know?! You're the shady guy who knows everything about the shady stuff!"

Sitting at the bar, he spins in his stool to face his visitors. "Listen, Red. I don't know what you think crime life is like, but it's not the Godfather-esque overly chummy crap where gangsters call each other over for brunch. I haven't seen Xiong since the night you trashed this place! He gave me the cash, I lent him some of my men, and none of them ever came back!"

Arslan, who had been absent from the conversation up until this point, sprung into action after finally finding a place to contribute. "Do you know where they went?"

Torchwick takes a moment to look at Arslan. A look that was one of the most retroactively insulting looks one can give to another person. It wasn't a form of eye rolling, or fake wide-eyed astonishment. It was an exasperated kind of look that seemed to be a cocktail of annoyance, deadpan, and complete and utter disappointment. Such a look was often more than enough to say, _"Wow. You are really stupid."_

He continued to stare at her with this neutral gaze until she became uncomfortable enough to ask. "What?!"

Torchwick shrugs. "I don't know, dear. Maybe if you checked the recent obituary you'd know that all the people Xiong took with him are _exactly_ five feat under. Not much else you can really gleam from, 'They never came back'."

Only slightly taken aback by this, she starts to put the pieces together. "Wait..." She turns to Ruby. "Wasn't your sister the one that stopped the burglary they tried? So that means..." She pauses, realizing a horrific truth that would shape her relationship with Team RWBY.

"Ruby... did Yang kill those guys?!"

"WHAT?! No!"

While Ruby instantly moved to defend her sister from this allegation, Torchwick dropped his head into his hands, absolutely befuddled at that line of thinking.

"My sis isn't a murderer! She wouldn't hurt a fly! Well, I mean if it was Grimm, sure, she'd cut down tons of them, but they're not actually alive!"

Raising his head at this point, Torchwick couldn't help but chime in. "I don't know. Seeing how violent you are, I'd hate to see what the bigger sister can do..."

Ruby wheels around to him, being already far more annoyed than she was just a few minutes ago. "Shush, you! Don't talk about my sister like that! Now tell us where the White Fang are, or else!"

"Red, I don't know what you're expecting from me, but for one: I don't deal with terrorists! I haven't yet, and I don't plan to! Second, I'm not gonna magically know something I didn't know five seconds ago. If you really plan on trying to find them- Which is something I REALLY wouldn't recommend- you really would have better chances elsewhere."

"Grrrrr...! Fine! We're going!" Ruby turns to leave with her cheeks puffed out, Arslan walking after her. "Did we get anything useful?" The lioness asks, Ruby just shaking her head.

"Not really... Hopefully the others managed to find something useful."

As the two reach the exit and begin to push open the doors, Torchwick walks back over to them. "Hey Red, wait a sec."

Ruby turns around to seethe crime boss again. She was confused at his reappearance, but before she could ask he had already answered. "Here."

He produced a business card with his name on it. Hesitantly, she took the piece of paper and looked at him curiously. "Uhh... What's this?"

"It's my card." He answered plainly. "If you're going to come back here looking for info, at least shoot me a warning beforehand. Or better yet, ask me over the scroll. It would make things a lot easier for the both of us."

Without waiting to say goodbye, Torchwick turned and headed back for the bar. Watching him leave, it was only then that Ruby noticed Neo watching them a short distance away from. Upon being noticed she grinned, and waved them goodbye.

Ruby waved back, sheepishly. "Bye..."

And with that, the two Huntresses-in-training finally left the Roman Candle.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cheering echoed throughout the warehouse of the Fang. The young souls that believed themselves fighting for a noble cause clamored to receive their weapon, cheered for the offer of war, and braced themselves for the shedding of blood.

"Got an escape plan?" Adam asks to Weiss, any other solution evading him.

She looks to the breaker box on the wall right of them, separated from them by a small sea of people. "I think I have something."

As Hei Xiong stood on the stage, smug and in power, his eyes eventually glossed over the two faunus whom he fought at the dock. His smile quickly shifts into a snarl at the sight of them. "Hey!"

Adam starts to sweat. "Well, he sees us, so I'd hurry!"

Weiss doesn't look away from the box, she just uses her right hand to grab her sword and she hands her left to Adam. "Grab my hand and don't get lost. It's about to get dark."

She draws her sword and summons a glyph on top of the breaker box. With a twitch of her hand it freezes solid, the metal panel busting open from the sudden shift in temperature.

With that, the lights die out, and the room is filled with darkness and hysteria.

"This way!"

"Stop them!"

Through the cloak of shadow, the two manage to reach the only other source of light in the room, the window. Glass shattered as they slashed through the glass and emerged back into the streets.

They were not the only ones, however.

Moments after their escape, the entire wall was blasted apart behind them as the mech that was being praised only a minute before began to chase them down with a single goal.

To crush them utterly.

Weiss and Adam immediately head for the rooftops, the one place the Paladin couldn't chase them. Leaping from building to building, Weiss using her glyphs to make any spectacular distances, they managed to avoid Hei Xiong for a while as he was confined to the roads.

"We need the rest of the team if we're going to scrap this thing!" Adam points out, to which Weiss grabs her scroll.

"Oh! Well! If you'll excuse me!"

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

From outside the CCT, Blake received the call. _"Everyone! We need help!"_

From a nearby street, Yang also heard. _"Hei Xiong got himself an Atlesian Paladin!"_

And from outside Torchwick's club Ruby and Arslan heard their plea. _"We're going to need everyone here to win this!"_

"Where did they go looking?!" Arslan asks her companion, who only had time to open her mouth before the answer raced down the street next to them. "Where are the police?!"

After a moment of almost perfect silence, Arslan spoke. "Welp."

"Please don't get whiplash!" Ruby tells her, much to Arslan's worry.

"Wait, wait, what?"

Shooting a deadpan look, she reiterates herself slowly to her friend. "Whiiiiiip... laaaaaash..." She quickly picks her up and dashes down the street, rose petals scattered in the place they once stood.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Weiss and Sun eventually reach the freeway, a series of roads held many feet above the ground connecting the two halves of Vale. It was there, though, that Hei Xiong had finally found suitable terrain for his mech.

The two faunus leaped from car to car in an attempt to out-speed the war machine, the lone arms dealer kicked aside any car moving his way. Just as he began to catch up to them, a cyclone of roses faster than any vehicle emerged from behind him. From it emerged a lioness, taking to the air and unclasping her whip-like weapon. It seemed like a simple rope with a tiny blade attached to the end, nothing like the weapons Hunters usually wielded.

But Arslan above all others knew that it wasn't the power of the weapon that determined fight, it was the skill in which you used it. Lashing out, the whip wrapped itself around the "waist" of the machine. Not a moment later, she fell to the ground, planting her feet into the pavement in an attempt to stop his Hei Xiong's rampage.

"Guh!" He looks behind him, seeing the Huntress impeding him. Rather than properly try to deal with this new entrant, he attempts to force his way through her grip. It succeeded in slowing him down somewhat, enough to where he began to lose his previous targets.

Her feet slide across the road as she attempts to hold her ground. After a few moments, her stance is broken and she has to run after the mech to not lose grip over her weapon. With a snarl and a leap, she drives her heals into the pavement once more, concrete breaking and bending from her strength.

Arslan yanks her whip back, instantly grinding the armored giant to a halt and tearing up the armored plating where her whip was.

Hei Xiong found his mech lying on it's back, helpless. Cars no longer sped by his position, the area most likely having been closed off. As he rose he found six teens had surrounded him with their weapons drawn, each ready to tear his oh-so powerful weapon to shreds. On his right stood Ruby, Weiss, and Adam. His left, Yang, Blake, and Arslan.

"Ugh... Why does every punk kid with a gun have to cause so much TROUBLE?!" Two ports on the roof of the Paladin opened to unleash a small missile silo on those to his left. Yang jumps forward, ignoring the missile silo entirely in favor of instantly unleashing her all-out offensive against Hei Xiong.

Blake, however, leaps to the side and Arslan evades the missiles, eventually finding herself a a decent distance behind Blake. The explosions rock the platform, and cracks form throughout the road. Pulling out her gun, Blake opens fire against her enemy.

"Blake! Below you!" Blake looks behind her to see Arslan running after her. Her confusion dissipates with a stat as the ground gives way below her, and the road gives way below her.

Tumbling through the air, she locks on to the edge of the road that still stood. Flipping out her sword and coil, she flings the blade skyward, connecting with the bridge and catching her. She looks up with frustration at not being in the fight.

"Blake! Above you!" Tilting her head, she sees Arslan's whip dangling down to her. "Hold on tight!"

Without hesitation she grabs the life rope, disconnecting her previous tether, and is subsequently thrown back into the air with a single tug from Arslan. Past the

bridge she went, and as she looked down she saw the entire battle transpiring below her. Petals flew as Ruby spun circles around Hei Xiong, and Yang, Adam, and Weiss each coordinated their attacks to outmaneuver his slow mech.

Blake steels herself, and throws her blade into his back. She flings herself forward, swinging back into the fray and landing on his back. A steel hand smashes the spot she had stood for the moment, but all he caught was shadow as she dashed away.

"Hey, Weiss, throw some ice my way!" Adam calls out, sheathing his sword.

"Understood!" She holds her blade in front of her, before a glyph appears right in front of Adam. A single, long stream of ice shot towards him, to which he drew his blade just enough to where the ice only connected with his naked blade. As soon as the ice ended, his sword clicked close once more and frost overcame the length of the sheath.

"Let's see how you like this one, you bastard!" He runs forward with Yang backing him up. Hei Xiong swoops his arm in front of him in an attempt to knock them both of the bridge. Yang braces herself and blocks his attack, while Adam leaps over him and somersaults. Mid-flight, he looks downwards towards his opponent and delivers a damaging slash in a downward arch into his shoulder.

"Grrrrr! I've heard ENOUGH outta-!" He turns to strike Adam, but his mechanical left arm rapidly slows mid-swing until it completely stops. He couldn't see it, but his entire arm from the shoulder down was growing a solid layer of ice, all the way down to it's circuits.

"How do you like that?!" Adam brags, before running forward and jumping off the momentarily helpless Paladin. "Arslan! Over here!"

"About time!" She throws the whip to the now mid-air Adam, who takes it and yanks it towards his side of the bridge. Like a bullet Arslan flies over, and without any wasted movement she shot through the frozen steel appendage with a single kick. It shatters and falls to the ground in pieces.

"DAMMIT! Do you know how IMPORTANT it is to get this thing back in good shape?! I need this as a SELLING POINT!"

Adam and Arslan leap forward to attack again, but it was ill timed. Swiveling from the waist, Hei Xiong connects a strike using his remaining arm that sends the two members of Team TANC flying off the highway.

"Guys!" Yang runs forward to jump after her friends, but a metal fist punching the ground in front of her got in the way.

"Oh, no! I'm not finished with you four yet! ESPECIALLY not Ice Queen!"

As Team RWBY begins to form back up, Weiss lowers her sword to snark back. "Ice Queen? You would think a grown man whom sells high grade military technology would be more mature. I guess not."

Hei Xiong advances slowly on the four girls, doing his best to try and intimidate them.

"Guys-" Yang starts, quickly glancing at everyone in the team. "-we need a strategy, quick!"

"Just let me punch him so more, he'll go down eventually!" Ruby says, punching the air.

"Ruby!" As Yang chastises her sister, Blake raises her voice. "We won't be able to take him down by ourselves. We need some sort of combination attack, like the one we used against that Nevermore we fought on our first day."

"Oh, yeah! That brings back memories! Me and Weiss were the first ones to the altar!" Ruby says, much to Yang's chagrin.

"Stop! Focus! We're fighting an ultra advanced piece of Atlesian technology! Right now our first day of school doesn't matter! The stupid chess pieces don't matter! And that horrible, horrible Nevermore _especially_ doesn't-"

All at once, an idea pops into Yang's head, and she immediately takes back what she said before. "Actually, you guys remember how we killed that Nevermore?"

"Yeah."

"Of course."

"It was awesome!"

"Alright, then..."

She turns to her friends. "Let's do that in reverse!"

They each take a moment to wonder what that meant, before each came to the realization.

"Reverse...? Ohhhhh, I like this idea! Give me a shout when you need me! I'll just punch him until then." Ruby says, about ready to go into a sprint.

"Interesting idea. Let's hope it works." Blake says, eyeing a light pole that looked like a prime position to wait for her signal.

"Guess I'll get my glyphs ready. Anything else you need me to do?" Weiss asks, to which Yang nodded. "Yeah, I need you attack me."

"What?!"

"Ugh, enough TALKING! Get over here so I can CRUSH you!" Hei Xiong yells as he charges the team. Ruby evades with her Semblance and indeed begins to punch him rapidly. Blake retreats to her light pole, surveying the battlefield.

As Weiss and Yang dodge his assault, Weiss looks at Yang incredulously. "What are you talking about?!"

Yang grabs her shoulder. "Trust me! I can take it! It's all a part of the plan! You have to trust me!" She turns towards Ruby and Blake. "Keep him distracted until we're ready!"

With no other option in the heat of the moment, Weiss hesitantly nods. A cylindrical wall of glyphs appeared around Yang. She sheathed her katana and held it like a cane in front of her. She closed her eyes and braced her Aura.

Ruby and Blake swing into action, harassing Hei Xiong with a flurry of punches and bullets. Making sure his line of sight doesn't even gloss over Yang or Weiss.

"I really don't like this!" Weiss yells as a rain of piercing spears of ice pepper Yang from all sides. With a stoic mien she withstood the chilling attack. It took a straight minute until Yang had called it quits, after which Weiss rushed to her side.

"Yang are you okay?!" She grabs her shoulder, but she was burned by what seemed like a thread of molten wire. It was then that she noticed that Yang's hair began to glow, and her presence began to shift.

"It's okay." Yang said, her eyes still closed. "Get everything ready! Counting on you guys!"

Without even needing to ask, Weiss put up a glyph for Yang to enter, in which Yang boosted her way to the other side of the bridge.

Inside the Paladin, Hei Xiong began to panic, because in spite of the firepower he was packing, he was unable to pin down any of his targets. "Dammit... Dammit...!" The machine became less and less useful to him, until he was unable to keep track of any of the girls.

"He's slowing down! This is our chance!" Weiss yells. At this, everyone knew what they had to do.

Blake swung in behind him, attaching her whip to both sides of the bridge, forming a tripwire.

Ruby shoots forward, and despite Hei Xiong's attempt to swat her aside he was just too slow. Ruby slams into the mech's chest, pushing it backward into the newly fashioned tripwire, and once again leaving him facing skyward.

He Winced from the jolt, and when he opened his eyes again he caught a glimpse of a black ring encircling the road. If he could see outside his mech, he would see that the glyphs encompassed the entire road, all the way to the city. Weiss struck the ground, and ice enveloped the surface and made it slick.

"What?!"

Blake had retrieved her weapon, and with Ruby hanging on to the other end of Blake's weapon she began to swing in circles, building up moment in order to turn a gust of roses in a hurricane. As they spun faster and faster, Hei Xiong looked up to see the spectacle with his own eyes. He saw the vortex spin, and then he saw the rose fly towards him.

"SEE YA LATER!"

Ruby collided with him, throwing him forwards and through the glyphs Weiss had set. Through each ring she laid out he was being thrown faster and faster, until eventually he was nothing more than an armored toy roll through the wind.

The long road turned out to be the perfect chute for him to fly through. Eventually the glyphs stopped, but it did little to slow him down. As he bounced along, each glimpse he had of the city grew closer and closer.

The very last glimpse was of him entering the city, and one detail was particularly striking. His last glimpse of the world inside the Paladin was that of Yang standing there, meeting his eyes despite his incessant tumbling. A last glimpse of Yang with glowing red eyes and smoldering, shining hair.

She drew her sword and struck. And with that one motion an inferno raged from her blade. A demon of steel and fire tore the Atlesian Paladin straight in half, the two halves rolling a few more blocks down the street. The once mighty and technologically superior weapon now lay in flaming heaps.

Yang fell to one knee, exhausted. Looking behind her, she noticed Hei Xiong slowly rose from the larger half, still alive since Yang's slash missed him specifically. A crowd had already gathered around the wreckage. "No... Everyone stay away! It's not safe-"

Yang was cut her off as a helicopter had appeared from overhead. She held her hand up to block the wind that dried her eyes and deafened her ears. Through her fingers she could see the double-image of a woman in the helicopter, lowering a rope ladder. Despite how clear things were otherwise, she could not blink this away. It hit her that it was a not a double-image of a single woman, it was twins wearing the same attire in different colors.

"So it would seem you have lost our Paladin..."

"And to a bunch of children. How embarrassing..."

Reaching the top of the ladder and getting on board, Hei Xiong couldn't look them in the eye. "Ahhh, shut up..."

As the helicopter began to ascend Yang reached for her sword, but she stopped herself. She looked at the civilians still littering the place, shielding themselves from the gale of the helicopter. _'I can't shoot them down without putting the people around here at risk..."_

Without resistance, the helicopter flew off, out of sight Yang and anyone else who could have stopped it. Her head lay low, shame filled her.

"Yang!"

That was Ruby's voice. By the sound of it, her team had caught up to her.

But it didn't matter. He had gotten away. All of their fighting had been for nothing.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the flats below the highway...

Adam and Arslan sat there, twiddling their thumbs until a rescue evac could pick them up.

"So we did pretty good, right?" Arslan asks. "We took out an arm, and that was just the two of us!"

"And Weiss." Adam points out. "Hey, do you think they're alright?"

Arslan takes a moment to think about it. "... Yeah, I think they're alright."

"But when we join back up, watch out for Yang. I heard she's pretty hardcore."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: I am back... From... THE DEAD!**

 **Okay, but seriously, I need to make an important announcement. My hiatus is actually over now. I know that before my official hiatus, the time between uploads were both erratic and at times, far too long. From here on out I'm going to be posting chapters to my fics regularly. I've set up a new schedule for myself, although some of you may not like it.**

 **Seeing as how I now have two fics with long term goals in mind, I'm going to focus on getting these two done before moving on with any other projects. I tend to prefer writing long chapters, as I feel this helps me properly flesh out the the world and it's characters.**

 **With these two things in mind, I'm going to be alternating uploads between RWBY: SWAP, and my Persona 5 fic: The World Arcana. I'm going to upload biweekly, so every two weeks will be a new chapter for one of my works, and then the next two weeks will be focused on writing the chapter for the other.**

 **This essentially means I'm going to be uploading a chapter of RWBY: SWAP every four weeks.**

 ** **I also plan on taking a few months break between volumes. RWBY, as a series, is far from over, and as we enter Volume 7 I realize that writing or planning out the plot for my story may directly contradict plot points established by the main series.  
****

 **I know, it's lame, but with classes starting soon I will not have nearly as much time to write. I hope you understand.**

 **I'm dedicated to bringing you all the best possible content I can create, but I realize now that I need more time to do that.**

 **Thank you all so much for reading, and for sticking with me up to this point. You guys are the best.**

 **And now, it's finally time to do my favorite part of the chapter... Reviews!**

 **therandompers:**

Darn it, I have to wait till s3 to actually see who the hell Swapped Blake is related to cause i'm very curious. Oh well.

Me being repetitive aside, is Glynda younger in this? Cause would be rather absurd if someone is probably in their 30s or 40s (i've never been a good judge of age) just showed up in a school for teenagers. Would be really funny, but still absurd.

 **Sorry about that... XD I knew that would bug people, but I think the scene in Vol 3 with Winter making her first appearance is going to be so much better when you don't know going into it.  
**

 **And about Glynda, it's the same thing with Mercury replacing Ironwood, or Emerald replacing Glynda. You can imagine Glynda being younger to fit with the students, or just be a flat out adult that sticks out, and nobody bats an eye, because 50% of this fic is to just be completely and utterly ridiculous. I'm pretty much leaving the choice to the viewer, because if I'm not specifying I'm letting you imagine what is most comfortable for you. In the end it's left-**

 _~To your imagination~_

 **GrimmDzzzy:**

Nice chapter, especially when Fen...Oh crap, what's going happen to Corsac when he-Nope! Not thinking about it! not thinking about it! NOT THINKING ABOUT...dammit.

Also weirdest role for Cinder...Sienna Khan.

 **That is a pretty weird one. And It's a bummer because I can neither confirm nor deny!**

 **Royal2:**

I know Emerald shaped with Glynda who swapped with cinder. Did cinder swap with the fallen maiden?

 **Sorry, but I cannot say.**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Pretty nice chapter, trough a little too similar to canon for my tastes. Maria is one of the best things regarding this volume and i still hope Ghira isn't an asshole as Jaques, good work. Regarding Mercury, i probably written bad or a word is missed, i meant anyway he can reach more compromises in my opinion. Hoping to be useful, also good holydays.

 **Yeah... Even when I was posting it, I wasn't satisfied with how the chapter went. Who knows, though, maybe I'll go back sometime and re-write it.**

 **And happy holidays!**

 **Although... Now that I'm posting, it's way past the holidays. XD**


	23. Chapter 15: Extracurricular

**Chapter 15: Extracurricular**

It was Tuesday in Beacon, the day where students managed to knock off the weekend rust and start taking their work seriously. On a similar note, it was second period.

Which meant Nora was attending Ms. Sustrai's class at the moment. She was very happy about this, as she had just learned who she was about to face. Nora sat in the locker room, equipping her gear in anticipation for her approaching fight with Team CFVY.

She clasped on her greaves, adorned with tiny wings at the ankles. Her gauntlets felt as light as feathers, and fit like a glove. Stepping out of the room, she walked down the the long tunnel to the arena. The dark pathway slowly became brighter as she made her way down, and the voices of the crowd grew stronger in anticipation of the fight.

Metal screeched and warriors buckled from her assault.

Her arrival was met with cheers, as if she was the gladiator fighting for others' entertainment. With a simple determination she drew her hammer.

The air was charged with electricity and adrenaline.

Nora examined the opposition in front of her. The four teenagers in grunge stood in a cloud of animosity, their resentment towards the famous warrior was obvious to everyone. All this did was make Nora smile.

She was going to enjoy this.

Nora charges at Coco, leaping into the air before she slams her hammer towards her. Coco for her part hops backwards, the hammer head missing her by inches. Her handbag folded shut, she takes a diagonal swing at Nora's head. Instantly analyzing this, she turns her hammer upside down and in the opposite direction as Coco's swing, to where if if looked at the two of them straight on Coco's swing and Nora's hammer would form an X.

As Coco swung down, Nora stepped sideways, shoving the bottom end of the handle through the opening between Coco's hand holding the briefcase and the briefcase itself. Pinned down, Coco quickly meets eyes with Nora.

Nora pops a smirk.

Hearing the quiet footsteps of Fox running towards her from behind, she fires off her hammer to both crack Coco in the midsection and use the momentum to throw the team leader at the bewildered faunus, who had no time to dodge out of the way.

The two were thrown aside, leaving Velvet and Yatsuhashi to deal with the champion fighter. Velvet had created a sword and shield, seeming the same as Jaune's. She rushed forward first, shield raised in an attempt to pin Nora down. Not even allowing a chance at that to happen, Nora slides to the ground and lays her hammer flat against the ground, only holding it at the very end of the shaft.

As Velvet reached her, she fires off her weapon and in the blink of an eye she spins on the spot. The hammer clips Velvet in the knees, sending her spinning through the air before landing with a thud.

Yatsuhashi roars forward, no-dachi raised above his head. Nora pushes herself off the ground to her left, narrowly avoiding the giant's blade as it crashed into the ground. The blade had, however, slashed into Nora's hammer and smacked it out of her grasp.

He follows this up by swinging his blade horizontally, but his awkward positioning meant that his swing had only enough force to just barely lift his sword off the ground. With little effort Nora jumps over him and his attempt at an attack.

After landing, she grabs her hammer again and quickly turns around, swinging at him. Nora must have underestimated his reflexes, though. Just as soon as she had struck, Yatsuhashi had turned around and blocked with his sword. The two were locked in equal strength, Nora's hammer with Yatsuhashi's massive blade.

"Hold her there!"

Nora looks behind her to see Coco and Velvet standing beside each other, Velvet having unfolded her machine gun and Coco had copied it. The barrels revved up and were about to unleash an immense hail of bullets. Oh, and Fox was starting to come to.

Nora didn't sweat it though, she knew what to do.

Still holding her weapon with her left hand, she uses her right to grab Yatsuhashi's arm. He looks at her in confusion. Smiling, she jumps up and over him once more, landing behind him while still holding his arm as to drag his arms and his weapon behind him.

"WAI-"

Coco and Velvet realized what Nora was doing only a moment too late. They let go of the trigger almost instantly, but in that split second a hundred bullets shot towards Nora, only to hit Yatsuhashi instead. The force of the gun fire blasted the two to the wall.

"Yatsu!"

"Sorry!"

Nora pushes the now passed out man to the ground, and the next Coco and Velvet see of Nora is her figure jumping off the wall and into the air, flourishing her hammer as it transforms into it's grenade launcher form.

With a smile and a wink, she takes aim at the three remaining members of CFVY. The expressions of Coco, Velvet, and Fox could all be neatly summarized as, 'Oh, crap'.

A pink, miniature heart-shaped explosion fills the arena, blasting away the competition and depleting their Auras.

Cheers fill the air, and Ms. Sustrai enters the arena. "Alright, nice one, Nora. Don't worry about the tournament, you'll get in no problem."

Nora nods enthusiastically. "Thanks!"

As Coco and her team shuffle away, she can't help but mutter her annoyance. "Show off... Oww..."

Emerald looks to the stands of students. "Okay, so, we still have another... Ten minutes. Should be enough for one more sparring match. Who's in?"

She scans the rows of students, eventually settling on a woman with snow-white hair. "Weiss?"

The woman in question quickly tears her eyes open, lifting her head and staring back with silent shock after having been woken.

"You seem to be _really_ into what you were reading, so let's get you back into class and-"

"I volunteer!"

Caught mid-sentence, she glares at the direction of the voice. It belonged to a young man with shock-blue hair and an overconfident mug. "R-really? Neptune Vasilias? I was actually gonna- You know what? Whatever. Better to have willing fighters. So who do you want to fight? Miss Schnee? 'Cuz I was thinking she should-"

"No actually." Neptune says, cutting her off again, much to her annoyance. "I was hoping I could fight the legendary 'Goddess of Lightning' herself."

Nora was surprised, but not overly so. She looks at Neptune, and then behind herself before pointing at her own head.

"Yeah, you! My friends talk about you all the time. I want to see how I stack up to perfection."

"Well," Emerald says, getting ticked off. "Nora already fought a match. You know, the four versus one match she won not a minute ago? So you're going to have to fight someone else."

Nora shrugs off the statement. "Eh, I don't mind. Didn't really have to break a sweat for that last match, so I'm still roarin' and ready to go!"

Neptune smiles. "Perfect."

As Neptune makes his way into the arena, Nora readies herself for round two. She re-tightened her greaves, and reloaded her grenade launcher. Neptune enters the arena in all-smiles, seemingly not taking the fight very seriously. Retrieving the spear holstered to his back, he lets it hang in his hand casually. The two combatants stared the other down, sizing each other up for when the fighting actually started.

Yang looked on excitedly, eager to see her friend kick more butt. Vernal merely sat back in exasperation, wondering what the point of it all is.

Nora made the first move. Rushing forward, she grabbed her hammer right below it's head, swiping towards Neptune several times. For each, he either side-stepped them or parried with his spear.

After a few moments of this, he eventually managed to parry Nora's attack far enough away to break her momentum. He quickly jabs at her, scoring a glancing blow to her side that honestly didn't really do much.

Adapting to this, Nora steps back, readjusting her grip on her hammer and preparing to counter whatever Neptune's next move was. For his part, he didn't do much. Slowly advancing forward, he would occasionally thrust at Nora, poking and prodding to try and find any weaknesses. Such slowly and deliberate strikes were not difficult to block, Nora perfectly deflected each one.

Vernal got bored of this quick. "Why are you even bothering with this...?" She had to asked herself, since their biggest responsibility right now was to keep a low profile.

This sort of skirmish lasted for about two minutes. Neptune continued to test the waters, and Nora waited.

"Come on, why don't you show us a little lightning? It's kind of what you're famous for..." Neptune said, trying to goad Nora on.

"Oh, you want lightning? I'll show you lightning..." She warns, still smiling in an attempt to get in his head.

In this battle, every inch counted. Any advantage to be had were ones the two would strive for. In this case, it had all boiled down to psychological warfare. Whoever cracked first would give the other an advantage. Neptune seemed to be a master at this because of his casual facade and safe-distanced weapon.

Nora wasn't as trained for this kind of fight, and her weapon wasn't made to fight slow, or methodically. Knowing she couldn't make any progress like this, she throws caution to the wind.

When she made her next parry she struck. Flicking Neptune's weapon off to his side and away from her, she then swings her weapon towards his head.

Neptune leans back, dodging the attack by less than an inch. Jumping backwards, he condenses his spear into an energy-charged rifle and begins to fire. The shots of electricity shoot by Nora, but with either a dodge or a whacking from Magnhild almost none of them connected with Nora. One did, however, clip her knee. She staggered for a moment, but rose again almost instantly, even more ferocious than before.

She rushed forwards with her hammer held high, crashing down with enough force to crack the floor. But Neptune side-steps this, twirling over to the side while unfolding his rifle back into a spear. Holding it like a halberd above his head, the spearhead folds apart into three prongs, like a trident. Electricity sparks out from it, with each crack of energy almost coming off as a warning.

He brings the blade down, striking Nora in her shoulder.

"Gah...!"

Nora simply stayed there, on one knee for the next few moments, but Neptune almost didn't catch what happened next. Before he could prepare a defense, or even properly react Nora had retaliated. She surged forward, striking a heavy blow right in his jaw, the impact of which sent him flying a few feet outwards. His whole body was charged with electricity

He found himself laying on the ground, facing towards the ceiling. He started to get up, but was stopped by Ms. Sustrai's voice. "Alright, then. Looks like Neptune lost, good job again, Nora." Surprised, he looks at his scroll.

Aura was critical. "In one hit...?"

Neptune looked back up to see Nora standing there with a slightly smug look on her face. "Not bad. You had me going for a little bit, want to fight again sometime?" She offered her hand.

Neptune smiled, and accepted her help. "Sounds great."

Weiss, who had fallen asleep during the match was brought out from her sleep as the bell for next period rang.

"Alright, I know the dance is this weekend, but don't forget that your first missions will be on Monday, so don't go staying up till five in the morning doing whatever, because you have work to do in the morning!"

Team Rwby leaves the classroom, while Vernal waits outside the door. As Neptune walks out, she stops to question him. "What the hell were you doing?!" She asks in an angry but hushed tone.

"... My father used to say that, 'The best way to get to know someone, is by fighting them.' And you know..." He says, a look of unchallenged smugness dancing across his features. "I couldn't agree more."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

The four girls exit the building and begin making their way to their next class. As they walk on, a voice calls out to them, or at least one in particular. "Hey, Weiss!"

Weiss slowly turns around to see Adam running towards her. "Hey." He says again, not sure quite how to start the conversation. "So what's been going on? You have any idea of who you're bringing to the dance?"

Her mind clouded and slow without having had a restful night's sleep, Weiss was unable to get out a coherent response. "W-What?"

"... Haven't really thought about it? I get that. I wasn't going to go, but Arslan won't stop badgering me until I find a date..." He answers, not realizing the two were on different wavelengths.

"And, about that..." Adam leans in slightly, apparently embarrassed. "Do you know anyone I could go with? I'm clueless when it comes to finding a date..."

Weiss stood silent for a few moments, trying to comprehend what he was saying. "Are... you serious?" She asked, much to Adam's surprise. "Adam, I don't have time to find you a date for this stupid dance. I have to focus on how we can stop the Fang. WE have to focus on stopping the Fang. Worry about goofing off later."

Without another word to the conversation, Weiss storms off. She didn't even wait for her team, who had stopped to watch their conversation. Yang winced, worried about her teammate.

Adam also seemed worried. "She's taking it this hard, huh...? This isn't healthy for her." The rest of the team couldn't agree more.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

"You want me to go to the dance."

A few hours had passed, and Team Rwby was sitting in their dorm trying to have an intervention with Weiss. Weiss didn't ask this as a question, it was a statement. A sort of confirmation that yes, this was really what she was hearing.

"We want you to unwind!" Ruby nearly yells, to which Yang nudges her to quiet down. "I know that stopping the White Fang is important to you, Weiss, but you're running yourself ragged."

"You've haven't been able to sleep and you can barely stomach breakfast." Blake informs her. "Your wasting away, Weiss! You need to relax a bit, start worrying about yourself!"

"I don't have TIME to be worrying about myself!" Weiss snaps, rising to her feet. "Right now, as we speak, the White Fang are teaching kids how to be terrorists! To become murderers! It doesn't matter if I pass on a few hours of sleep, or miss a few meals. The faster I can finish this, the better!"

In that moment she decided to end the conversation. The ex-Fang makes her way to the door, only stopping to say one more thing. "We know that their operation is somewhere in southeast Vale, and that right now they're targeting Vale specifically. I'm going to the library to see if there's any notable landmark around there."

The Ice Queen leaves, and the rest are unable to stop her.

Yang sighs. "I get how this is a big deal for her, but how can she take it this far...?"

"Beats me." Ruby replies, trying to think of a way to get to her.

Blake was about to speak, but a knock on the door stops her. For some reason, she could feel some dread permeating from behind the door. She opens the door to find...

Ren, standing there awkwardly. "Uhhhh... Hi."

That was pretty much it. Blake tries to close the door, but Ren quickly stops it, and scrambles to try to explain himself. "Wai-Wait! I know what it looks like, but I really just want to talk to you three as a group!"

Blake let's go of the door and allows Ren in. He lets out a short sigh of relief. "Thank you."

"What do you want, Ren?" Blake asks, short on patience. Meanwhile, Yang motions Ren forward, inviting him further inside the room.

As he walked inside, he explains. "So, I actually want to talk about a few things, like what's going on with Weiss? We haven't seen her at all since the day before, but when I walked by her just now she seemed so tired-"

"REN!"

Nora's resounded through the halls and into the dorms, the sheer shock of it snapping Ren from his thoughts and leaving the room in silence. He cups his hands to his mouth and whispered: "Alright, everyone stay quiet... She doesn't know I'm-"

It didn't matter what he was going to say. It was proven wrong, anyways. Nora busted through the door with Magnhild in her hand, a fiery look in her eyes and a determined grin on her face. "There you are! Trying to skip practice, are we?"

The sheer power of her entrance knocked Ren to the ground, and intimidated RWBY into the corners of the room. "Please, Nora! We already practiced earlier today, so can't we please take a break, if only for tonight?"

Nora shakes her head furiously. "No-sir-y-Bob! We're going to make you the strongest freaking fighter in this school! And that means we're not skipping Jack-diddly-squat! Let's go!"

She reaches out and grabs Ren's arm, pulling him out of the room and towards the rooftop. "Help...!" The door closed behind them, leaving only the three shell-shocked members of Team RWBY behind.

"Weeeell..." Ruby says slowly. "That was weird."

Blake shakes her head. "Yeah, it was. _Anyways,_ Ruby, I was hoping to ask you about a few of the things we need for the dance..."

Yang perks up at this, only just now remembering that Cardin and Russel had asked them to organize the dance while their team was busy on a mission. "Oh yeah, you guys are organizing. Are... you sure you guys want to do this...?" While she didn't want to be rude, she couldn't help but see how Ruby and Blake's personal styles clashed.

"Of course." Blake answers with utmost confidence. "With my refined tastes..."

"And my totally awesome ideas!" Ruby joins in.

"People will be talking about the dance for years!" Blake boasts, having written down all of her ideas in a notepad she carries around.

Yang can't help but sigh at this. "I'm sorry, but it almost feels like a waste if Weiss isn't coming with us."

"I know." Blake sympathizes. "But if there's really nothing we can do to convince her, then we shouldn't let Weiss's absence detract from our fun this weekend. I suppose... she's made her decision."

Ruby was still unconvinced, though. "I mean, there's got to be SOME way we can convince her!" As the words left her mouth, she realized what she needed to do.

But she didn't say anything else. She didn't have to tell them just yet.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Having reached the rooftops, Nora and Ren were well into their training exercises. Despite Nora having dragged Ren up there, it didn't mean she didn't take his words into consideration. She kept the exercises light, and mainly focused on having Ren dodge her attacks.

Most of the attacks Nora performed were easy to telegraph, but not very hard hitting. These were to test his sense of timing. Ren needed to tell apart the small and safe attacks she threw out from her stronger and riskier strikes, and punish mistakes accordingly.

She spins around, swiping her hammer towards Ren's legs. He flawlessly hops over her weapon, the exact kind of maneuver Nora had been wanting to see. Ren counterattacks, raising both of his sidearms and slashes downwards at Nora.

This was exactly the opposite of what Nora had wanted to see. She raises her hammer to block his attack, and the two knives clicked around the metal handle of the hammer.

"Hey! Don't do that!"

The exclamation brought Ren out of his training mindset, and he quickly began to holster his weapons. Nora stops him however.

"No, wait! I want to show you what you did wrong, and why you shouldn't do it! You're going to make mistakes, so I need you to learn from them." She reasons, holding her hammer as if she was blocking the previous attack again.

"Put your knives back where they were, that way I can show you, instead of just telling you."

Embarrassed, but seeing the logic behind her reasoning, Ren raised no objections. As he replicated the previous scenario, she explained.

"You don't want to use both of your weapons to attack the same place at the same time. It looks neat, but if your opponent manages to block, then you get into a situation like this."

"And in a situation like this..." She slowly motions her hammer towards Ren's head. "I can hit back by swinging the end of my hammer, or I can kick you or hit you with my knee." At this point she disengages their stance.

"Can I see your weapons real quick?" Nora asks, another demonstration coming to mind.

"Of course." Ren hands over his weapons, but is surprised when she hands him her hammer. "Okay, now hold Magnhild over your head, like your going to block my attack."

He does so, and Nora pretends to attack with her left weapon. "The whole point of being able to use two weapons is to be able to use one weapon to attack in one direction-" She then reaches around with her right arm and taps Ren in the side with her right weapon. "- and attack with the other weapon somewhere else. Your best strength with your weapons is your ability to outmaneuver people. Did you get all that?"

Ren, while still mulling over the advice she had given him, could still understand everything she said. "Yeah, I think so. Thanks Nora, you're a great teacher."

The statement inspires some pride from Nora. She places her hands on her hips and smiles. "Well, thanks! I do the best I can. Anyways, I think that should be enough today."

At this, Ren lets out a sigh of relief and sits down on the roof. "Thank the gods... I'm so tired..."

"Oh, come on, don't collapse on me now! We still need to get something to eat! Wonder what they're serving tonight...?" As she begins to leave, Ren's voice stops her.

"Actually, Nora, I was hoping we could talk for a bit?"

She turns around to see Ren laying on the ground, staring off into the night sky. A few moments of looking at him like that convinces her. "That looks nice. I'm joining you!"

Nora hops down, laying a few feet from Ren. "What do you want to talk about?" She had asked this is a softer voice than previously. It must have been a fairly serious conversation if he wanted to talk privately.

Ren stays silent for a moment, trying to figure out how to put this best. "Alright. So..." He takes a deep breath. "You know... how I have tried to... w-win Blake's affection?"

When Nora heard this, she felt her heart sink a little. She didn't like to think about his attempts to woo Blake, or how ruthlessly she puts him down. But the stutter he gave revealed to Nora how embarrassed he was to talk about this, and she would give her friend the best support she could. "Yeah...? Did something happen? Did I... interrupt anything?"

This made Ren blush. "N-No! Nothing like that. It's just..." He pauses, and second guesses whether he should reveal this or not. Looking over to Nora, he saw that her expression was one that he wasn't quite sure he had seen before. Her expression was calm and patient, willing to listen to what he needed to get off his chest.

His worries assuaged, Ren revealed what he needed to say. "I'm done trying to win Blake over."

This was something Nora had never expected to hear. She was left confused, and... hopeful? _'Oh, shush, me! Stop thinking about that and listen to him!'_

 _"_ At this point..." Ren explains. "I think Blake thoroughly dislikes my presence. I've tried what I can to convince her to give me a chance, but... I realize that's a decision only she can make. At this point, I might just be making her uncomfortable. I think I should stop talking to her to her altogether..."

"No! I mean..." At this point, Nora leans over to look at Ren. Resting on her arm, she vents her annoyances. "You don't have to go that far. I'm glad that you've recognize that Blake is annoyed when you flirt with her, but you shouldn't just stop talking to her COMPLETELY! It's okay talk to her! It's okay to ask for her help! It's okay to be her friend! I guarantee that if you apologize to Blake, she'll be happy that she can have a normal conversation with you."

Ren was surprised by her sudden outburst. Nora was passionate about most things, but for some reason this was something he didn't expect. "Nora..." He smiles. "Thank you, you're right. I knew you were the right person to talk about this with."

She smiles back. "You're welcome! But you know what? I have something else to say! If, after the apology, she still doesn't want to talk to you, then that's her problem! She obviously doesn't appreciate the effort you've put forward! She hasn't noticed the fact that you straighten out your hair before each of your classes with her, or how you instantly remembered that her favorite instrument is the piano, and that you tried to learn how to play..."

Ren starts getting confused again. "Wait, Nora..."

"Or that you always wear the nicest shirt you have during school days, and that because of this you never wear your Strawberry Sloth hoodie to school even though it's adorable!"

Nora stands up, completely invested in what she was saying. "Ren, you deserve someone who appreciates you, and what you do for them!"

Ren chuckles good natured-ly, smiling up at his partner. "Well, it sounds like you appreciate my attempts to impress Blake more than she did!"

Nora's face goes blank, the realization of what she said hitting her. After a few seconds of silence, her face glows bright red. "W-W-WHAT?!"

Seeing how flustered she was, he tried to back track. "Sorry, I was just joking..."

"Yeah, no, I know! It was a really funny joke! I'mreallyhungryIgottagoseeyouatdinner!"

And like that, Nora disappeared from Ren's view. Not so sure what to make of her reaction, Ren continued to lay on the balcony, trying to reach an answer for himself. It took him a few minutes, but he did.

"Someone who appreciates me..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

In one of the dorm rooms, Glynda, Vernal, and Neptune sat around and planned their next move. Currently, they were covering the data on each of the students.

"Alright... So now we have Nora Valkyrie." Vernal reads off.

"The so-called 'Goddess of Lightning'? What info do we have on her?" Glynda asks while reading over other info.

"I got something interesting." Neptune says, sitting on his bed while reading a book. "As it turns out, she doesn't create any lightning with her Semblance, like people say she does. She absorbs any electricity she touches during a fight, and gets stronger."

"Yeah. Neptune had been hitting her with his electric attacks, so when she finally got a hit off, it instantly knocked out his Aura." Vernal confirms.

"Hmmmm..." Glynda ponders this for a moment. "Yes, we could use that. Add her to the list, we might just be able to find a use for her..."

Vernal does so. "So, when are we joining the operation...?" She asks, having quickly gotten bored of their stay in Beacon.

"This weekend." Glynda answers, small smile appearing on her features. "Bring your nicest outfit, we want to look our best for our 'coworkers'..."

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 **Author's Notes: So Fire Emblem: Three Houses released about a month ago, and I think I can say from my already 100+ hours of playtime...**

 **It's freaking amazing.**

 **I mean, it's basically Fire Emblem meets Persona. If you like both, I don't see how you wouldn't like Three Houses. If you have a Switch and like strategy games, I'd absolutely recommend buying it. Good luck finding a physical copy, though. I've heard that it's sold out pretty much everywhere!  
**

 **Also, on an unrelated note, does anyone reading know how to insert those lines between paragraphs? I would really like to know so that I don't have to keep repeating z's over and over again.**

 **GrimmDzzzy:**

I just realized, who's going to be the body for Salem when she inevitably dies in Volume 3?

 **Can't say.**

 **DarkDevilKnight:**

Glad to see that this story is alive and kicking, so looking forward to see how that dance and intruder event that is coming up real soon.

 **Glad to see you back, Knight! Can't wait for the... dance... scene...**

 ** _'Sweats as I try to figure out how the heck I write a dance scene.'_**

 **Shiranai Atsune:**

Yey! A new update! I love this so much!

 **I'm glad you're enjoying this! Thanks for reading!**

 **Heavyarms150:**

Ya know i never understood the overprotective yang trope. It only exists in fanfiction. In canon shes like a real life sister. She cares for her sister but doesn't smother her being overprotective like fanfic yang. I have never figured out where the trope came from as it has no basis in canon. Usually fanfiction tropes are found in canon like ruby being a nerd or weiss being snobby or blake reading erotica. All those have canon basis but the overprotective yang is just out of left field.

If cfvy is crdl am i gonna have to dislike them? But i loved coco.

 **I do realize that Yang doesn't really seem all too concerned about Ruby doing anything bad, but the half the point of the fic is too swap some important features of the characters. I've always took Ruby as the more responsible of the two siblings, and so in RWBY:SWAP this is flipped with Ruby being a reckless younger sibling and Yang being the responsible older sister. As a result it also only makes sense that Yang will be more concerned about Ruby and her behavior.**

 **And don't worry, Coco's on her way to redemption. : )**

 **Royal2:**

Okay and its good to have you back.

 **Thanks, Royal!**

 **merendinoemiliano:**

Really epic chapter, can't wait for more. But i would put past Huntsmen to kill when REALLY necessary, and i think they explain It ti the students. Good work.

 **Thanks, and sorry for being confusing this chapter, Yang didn't intentionally miss Hei Xiong in the final attack of the fight. She just attacked the mech as well as she could, and just so happened to miss him by a hair. She also couldn't shoot at him or the chopper without potentially endangering civilians, because even if she did shoot it down, the helicopter would crash into a building.**

 **Thanks everyone for reading, and I'll see you next chapter!**


End file.
